Polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic chip with integrated microheater and thermal sensor

A microheater and a thermal sensor were fabricated inside elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane microchannels by injecting silver paint (or other conductive materials) into the channels. With a high-precision control scheme, microheaters can be used for rapid heating, with precise temperature control and uniform thermal distribution. Using such a microheater and feedback system, a polymerase chain reaction experiment was carried out whereas the DNA was successfully amplified in 25 cycles, with 1 min per cycle.