Open Biotech/PCR

Materials

Heating

• Nichrome wire

PCR tube holder

PCR tube dimensions

• Height: 20.81 (± 0.07) to 20.93 (± 0.08) mm
• Diameter: 5.95 (± 0.04) to 6.07 (± 0.03) mm

Source: Dimensions and thermal property of different PCR tubes

Note that many PCR machines have PCR tube holes that are much shallower than the height of a PCR tube.

The curvature/slant of the bottom runs to about half-way up the tube.

Possible materials

Aluminum has a high thermal conductivity and is easy to machine. Adding a chunk of metal will slow temperature change. This is not desirable for rapid cycling, but it will make it easier to ensure that the temperature at the temperature probe and the temperature in the PCR tubes is the same.

Using a holed sheet of metal and air heating/cooling would be cheaper but may be more difficult to control accurately.

• Aluminum bars from McMaster-Carr

1 cm x 4 cm x 6 feet for $35 (enough for 45 4x4 cm tube holders)

1 cm x 4 cm x 6 feet for $44 (enough for 36 5x5 cm tube holders)

1 cm x 2.5 cm x 6 feet for $23

Previous work

Existing DIY cyclers

• openpcr
• lightbulb pcr
• Arduino PCR
• griessen pcr
• lava-amp

• laser-heated petri dish PCR
• A portable battery-operated chip thermocycler based on induction heating

Useful links

• Hackteria PCR notes

• DIYbio:Notebook/Open Thermal Cycler
• The Light Bulb PCR Machine
• $10 buck thermocycler design work
• Re: inexpensive PCR designs UnBlockedâ„¢
• The open-source Pacer PCR
• Cheaper OpenPCR