Abstract
Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) are widely used for the detection of living organisms, recently applied in Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) devices to make portable DNA analysis platforms. While portable LoC-NAAT can provide definitive test results on the spot, it requires specialized temperature control equipment. This work focuses on delivering a generalized low-cost, wireless smart thermostat for isothermal NAAT protocols in 2 cm × 3 cm LoC cartridges. We report on the design, prototyping, and evaluation results of our smart thermostat. The thermostat was evaluated by experimental and simulated thermal analysis using 3D printed LoC cartridges, in order to verify its applicability to various isothermal NAAT protocols. Furthermore, it was tested at the boundaries of its operating ambient temperature range as well as its battery life was evaluated. The prototype thermostat was proven functional in 20–30 °C ambient range, capable of maintaining the required reaction temperature of 12 isothermal NAAT protocols with 0.7 °C steady-state error in the worst case.
Highlights
Nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) protocols are currently the gold standard in detecting living organisms on a cellular level, PCR being the most widely used protocol [1,2]
Isothermal NAAT protocols are suitable for this format as, unlike PCR, they only require a single temperature target range to be maintained; they are easier to implement on compact, low cost hardware [7,8,9,10]
The goal was to determine the time constant and verify that the steady-state error (SSE) of control was within ±1 ◦C
Summary
Nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) protocols are currently the gold standard in detecting living organisms on a cellular level, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) being the most widely used protocol [1,2]. Heating elements used in LoC are typically electrical, with two main categories: external Peltier [11,12,13,14] and integrated resistive [15,16,17] or micro-Peltier [18,19,20]. All of these are regulated by thermostats that are typically external to the LoC device. Self-regulating resistive heating elements are an interesting novel solution to integrated temperature control as they require no thermostat [21,22,23,24,25]. PID algorithm) that a thermostat can provide, and preferably using a resistive heating element
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