Fabrication of micro PCR chip and DNA amplification

Amplification of the p53 gene using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed in a silicon-based micro-PCR chip. Metal deposition, photolithography, and anodic bonding were used to fabricate micro-PCR chip and a thermal cycling system with dual peltier devices and PID controller was integrated for controlling the cycling temperature of the PCR mixture. We have demonstrated the amplification of exon 6(182bp) of the p53 gene with the micro-fabricated PCR chip. Temperature control accuracy was within +/-0.5degreesC. The amplified p53 genes using both conventional PCR and micro fabricated PCR were analyzed using micro-capillary electrophoresis. The PCR performance strongly depends on the cycling temperature, and the Si surface treatment with protein. The micro-PCR products show higher specificity than those of conventional PCR products, and this is attributed to the uniform temperature distribution of the PCR mixture in micro-chip.