Free convective PCR: From principle study to commercial applications-A critical review

Guijun Miao; Lulu Zhang; Jing Zhang; Shengxiang Ge; Ningshao Xia; Shizhi Qian; Duli Yu; Xianbo Qiu

doi:10.1016/j.aca.2020.01.069

Free convective PCR: From principle study to commercial applications-A critical review

Anal Chim Acta. 2020 Apr 29:1108:177-197. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.01.069. Epub 2020 Jan 31.

Authors

Guijun Miao¹, Lulu Zhang², Jing Zhang³, Shengxiang Ge⁴, Ningshao Xia⁵, Shizhi Qian⁶, Duli Yu⁷, Xianbo Qiu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Microfluidic Chip Development in Biomedical Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: miaogj@mail.buct.edu.cn.
² Institute of Microfluidic Chip Development in Biomedical Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: llzhang@mail.buct.edu.cn.
³ Institute of Microfluidic Chip Development in Biomedical Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: jingzh@mail.buct.edu.cn.
⁴ National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China. Electronic address: sxge@xmu.edu.cn.
⁵ National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China. Electronic address: nsxia@xmu.edu.cn.
⁶ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA. Electronic address: sqian@odu.edu.
⁷ Institute of Microfluidic Chip Development in Biomedical Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China; Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: dyu@mail.buct.edu.cn.
⁸ Institute of Microfluidic Chip Development in Biomedical Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: xbqiu@mail.buct.edu.cn.

PMID: 32222239
DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.01.069

Abstract

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an extremely important tool for molecular diagnosis, as it can specifically amplify nucleic acid templates for sensitive detection. As another division of PCR, free convective PCR was invented in 2001, which can be performed in a capillary tube pseudo-isothermally within a significantly short time. Convective PCR thermal cycling is implemented by inducing thermal convection inside the capillary tube, which stratifies the reaction into spatially separate and stable melting, annealing, and extension zones created by the temperature gradient. Convective PCR is a promising tool that can be used for nucleic acid diagnosis as a point-of-care test (POCT) due to the significantly simplified heating strategy, reduced cost, and shortened detection time without sacrificing sensitivity and accuracy. Here, we review the history of free convective PCR from its invention to development and its commercial applications.

Keywords: Convective PCR (CPCR); Nucleic acid diagnosis; Point-of-care test (POCT); Pseudo-isothermal; Thermal convection.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Convection
Heating
Polymerase Chain Reaction / instrumentation
Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*