title: Instrumentation of a PLC-regulated temperature cycler with a PID control unit and its use for miniaturized PCR systems with reduced volumes of aqueous sample droplets isolated in oil phase in a microwell.
abstract: We have developed a temperature cycler for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in a microwell fabricated on a polymer/glass chip.  The entire system consisted of three subsystems, which included (1) a thermal conditioner, (2) a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control signal conditioner and (3) a data acquisition subsystem.  The subsystems were regulated coordinately by a ladder logic program written for the programmable logic control (PLC) so that an actual sample temperature could be timed, changed and maintained according to the programmed temperature cycles.  The present temperature control system showed high accuracy, stability and minimum overshoot with reduced heating and cooling transition rates.  Applicability of the temperature controller to the miniaturized PCR system with reduced volumes of aqueous sample droplets isolated in an oil phase was confirmed by successful amplifications of a target DNA sequence in the microwell.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610–0321, Japan. mahashim@mail.doshisha.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torii
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsukagoshi
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D008904:Miniaturization; D009821:Oils; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D009821:Oils; D014867:Water