Convective PCR Thermocycling with Smartphone-Based Detection: A Versatile Platform for Rapid, Inexpensive, and Robust Mobile Diagnostics

Abstract

Development of portable PCR-based diagnostic instruments has potential to greatly expand availability of advanced health care technologies. But issues associated with cost, complexity, electrical power requirements, and product detection continue to make PCR challenging to deploy outside of conventional laboratory environments. Here we review exciting recent progress toward development of convective thermocycling approaches that promise to overcome these limitations, laying a foundation for a new generation of inexpensive and greatly simplified diagnostic tools that can be readily deployed in a host of field-based settings.

A smartphone-based diagnostic platform for rapid detection of Zika, chikungunya, and dengue viruses

“…The associated turnaround time, complexity, form factor, power consumption, and cost of these devices make them sub-optimal for point-of-care applications, limiting their widespread deployment. Consequently, newly emerging NAAT devices are shifting from dedicated laboratory-based detection systems towards more compact, portable, and inexpensive field deployable systems 7 8 9 10 .…”

Advances in Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies

“…PCR based methods have opened up a myriad of possibilities in diagnostics for pathogens and infectious diseases, in both clinical and environmental settings. There exists several commercial FDA approved PCR platforms (Priye & Ugaz, 2016), but most require either manual off-chip SPrep or separate automated SPrep systems involving bench top equipment like a centrifuge. Hence, these tests are not Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waived or POC (Mitchell, et al, 2012).…”

Micro-Scale Transport Processes for Advanced Healthcare and Point of Care Diagnostics

“…Our research led us to investigate the underlying physics of these thermally driven micro-scale Rayleigh-Bénard convective flows. This new understanding revealed how a subset of these flow fields exhibit chaotic advection that greatly accelerate temperature driven biochemical reactions such as PCR [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Since its first introduction a little over a decade ago, convective thermo-cycling has remained an intriguing avenue to enable rapid PCR.…”