A Mems-based Miniature DNA Analysis System

In this report we detail the design and development of a miniature thermal cycling instrument for performing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that uses microfabricated, silicon-based reaction chambers. The MEMS- based, battery-operated instrument shows significant improvements over commercial thermal cycling instrumentation. Several different biological systems have been amplified and verifyed with the miniature PCR instrument including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV); both cloned and genomic DNA templates of /spl beta/ globin; and the genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) from human DNA. The miniaturization of a PCR thermal cycler is the initial module of a fully- integrated portable, low-power, rapid, and highly efficient bioanalytical instrument.