DIODE LASER HEATED MICRO-REACTION CHAMBER WITH SAMPLE DETECTION MEANS

摘要

A heat source (17, 18) and detector (19) arrangement for a miniaturized, microfabricated instrument (10) in which a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is carried out. PCR is a bioanalytical method that uses enzymes and other reagents to amplify DNA or RNA from undetectable amounts to very detectable amounts, through a thermal cycling technique. Small IR or UV sources (17, 18) are used as heat sources for the PCR thermal cycle of the PCR technique, and sample conformation within the reaction chamber is established by detectors (19). Detection can be established when emitted light is absorbed by the DNA molecule, for example, or when a UV source induces fluorescence of the PCR products in the visible spectrum.