Rapid diagnosis of infectious disease and timely initiation of proper clinical antibiotic treatment is the determinant in obtaining the optimal clinical outcomes and reducing emergences of multidrug-resistant organisms. In particular, acute infections require the detection to be accomplished in limited time with high sensitivity due to the low concentration of organisms causing the infections. Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction can provide quantitative identification of specific genetic materials and has revolutionized clinical microbiology laboratory diagnosis. It is becoming a standard for infectious disease detection. However, most real-time PCR instruments on the market are bulky, fragile and costly due to their delicate optical components, which restricted their use to point-of-care application. Modern microfluidic and sensing technology provide a transition from benchtop real-time PCR to miniaturizable, robust, and portable real-time PCR devices to achieve rapid, low-cost, and efficient point-of-care diagnosis. In this work, an innovative electrokinetic PCR (EK-PCR) platform that combines AC electrothermal flow (ACEF) and Joule heating induced temperature gradient to implement thermal cycling for DNA amplification is discussed. In addition, in situ electrochemical sensing is incorporated in the EK-PCR chamber for real-time monitoring of the DNA concentration toward quantification of the initial copies of the DNA template. EK-PCR can improve the energy efficiency with minimized total thermal mass and remain high amplification efficiency. More importantly, it represents a highly integrated strategy for portable point-of-care devices.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/579083 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Liu, Tingting |
| Contributors | Wong, Pak Kin, Wong, Pak Kin, Chan, Cho Lik, Zohar, Yitshak |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Dissertation |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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