An integrated microelectronic device for biomolecular amplification and detection

The extraordinarily high sensitivity, large dynamic range and reproducibility of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have made it one of the most widely used techniques for analyzing nucleic acids. As a result, considerable effort has been directed towards developing miniaturized systems for PCR, but most rely on off-chip optical detection modules that are difficult to miniaturize into a compact analytical system and fluorescent product markers that can require extensive effort to optimize. This thesis presents a robust and simple method for direct label-free PCR product quantification using a microelectronic sensor. The thesis covers the design, fabrication, and characterization of the sensing technique and its integration with PCR microfluidics into a monolithic detection platform. The sensor used in this thesis study is an electrolyte-insulator-silicon (EIS) device fabricated on planar silicon substrates. Based on electronic detection of layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes, the sensing technique can specifically quantify double-stranded DNA product in unprocessed samples and monitor the product concentration at various stages of PCR to generate readout analogous to that of a real-time fluorescent measurement.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Hou, Chih-Sheng Johnson

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Scott Manalis.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38676

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38676