An on-chip transformer with a ferrofluid magnetic core has been developed and tested. The transformer consists of solenoid-type coil and a magnetic core of ferrofluid, with the former fabricated by MEMS technology and the latter by a chemical co-precipitation method. The performance of the MEMS transformer with a ferrofluid magnetic core was measured and simulated with frequencies ranging from 100 kHz to 100 MHz. Experimental results reveal that the presence of the ferrofluid increases the inductance of coils and the coupling coefficient of transformer; however, it also increases the resistance owing to the lag between the external magnetic field and the magnetization of the material.

Herein we describe a simple platform for rapid DNA amplification using convection. Capillary convective PCR (CCPCR) heats the bottom of a capillary tube using a dry bath maintained at a fixed temperature of 95°C. The tube is then cooled by the surrounding air, creating a temperature gradient in which a sample can undergo PCR amplification by natural convection through reagent circulation. We demonstrate that altering the melting temperature of the primers relative to the lowest temperature in the tube affects amplification efficiency; adjusting the denaturation temperature of the amplicon relative to the highest temperature in the tube affects maximum amplicon size, with amplicon lengths of ≤500 bp possible. Based on these criteria, we successfully amplified DNA sequences from three different viral genomes in 30 min using CCPCR, with a sensitivity of ~30 copies per reaction.

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This study aims to investigate the effect of viscosity of the base fluid on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids in which Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles are suspended in the base fluid composed of diesel oil and polydimethylsiloxane. Viscosity of the base fluid is varied by changing the volumetric fractions between both fluids. The measured thermal conductivity of nanofluids gradually approaches the value predicted by the Maxwell equation by increasing the viscosity. It demonstrates that the viscosity of nanofluids does affect the thermal conductivity of nanofluids, and the Brownian motion of suspended particles could be an important factor that enhances the thermal conductivity of nanofluids.

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