A carbon-black-embedded poly(dimethylsiloxane)-paper hybrid device for energy-efficient nucleic-acid amplification in point-of-care testing

Abstract

A paper-based device patterned with a carbon-black-poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) mixture is developed as a heating platform for nucleic-acid amplification tests. The photothermal effect of the carbon black under a laser irradiation...

Customizable Nichrome Wire Heaters for Molecular Diagnostic Applications

“…Carbon black, commonly used as an additive in polymer composites, serves the role of improving the thermal conductivity of the composite by forming conductive paths through particle-to-particle contact [ 56 ]. Referring to previous studies [ 5 ], carbon black was added to PDMS at a concentration of 1% (weight/weight) during the cast fabrication process. Two heaters were fabricated under identical conditions, excluding the presence or absence of carbon black, to compare the thermal conductivity of heaters with and without carbon black as shown in Figure 2 D. The NiCr wires were linearly affixed to structures with protrusions (indicated by straight red lines in Figure 2 D), without any specific pattern, and the overall size of the heaters was designed to be 15 mm × 15 mm × 4 mm (width × depth × height).…”

“…In PCR, the amplification process occurs through the separation and replication of double-helix strands via a thermal cycling process [ 4 ]. In contrast, LAMP achieves DNA amplification by forming a loop structure under isothermal conditions [ 5 , 6 ]. Thus, heating the sample becomes an indispensable element in DNA extraction and NAATs.…”