Design and simulation of microchannel for DNA amplification

Microfluidic technology has been playing a critical role in biochemical assays and molecular diagnosis since past few decades. One of its applications is polymerase chain reaction which requires fast and repetitive thermal cycling to amplify small amount of DNA. In this paper, microchannel is designed and CFD simulations are performed in ANSYS-CFX to obtain optimum velocity for efficient DNA amplification. The serpentine type channel of polycarbonate base covered with acetate layer is used. Two heaters of constant temperature are attached on the upper surface of the micro channels. Water is used as a carrier fluid and various parameters which may affect DNA amplification efficiency like flow rate, thermal mass, residence time, pumping power and heater powers are investigated. For related channel dimensions, optimum velocity of 4 mm/s and pumping power of 0.09 μW are obtained. Moreover, the impact of non-convection and natural convection on residence time is also analyzed numerically to optimize heater power.