PCR Microchip Array Based on Polymer Bonding Technique

Abstract

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) microchip array with a dimension of 21.3×17.5 mm2 has been fabricated by the silicon micromachining technique. The chip is composed of 192 rectangular reaction chambers with the volume of 50 nL. In order to package the silicon-based PCR chip, a low-temperature bonding technique using polymers as the intermediate layers has been developed. The tested polymers include positive photoresist, polyimide, and epoxy. Using stamping and sandwich techniques, void-free and liquid-proof bondings of silicon to a glass cover were achieved with the three polymers. The experimental results of fluorescence-based PCR demonstrate that the DNA amplification can be performed in the chip arrays with nanoliter volumes and the polymer bonding technique is biocompatible and suitable for the microchip packaging.