Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical Diagnosis
Global health crises due to the prevailing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have placed significant strain on health care facilities such as hospitals and clinics around the world. Further, foodborne and waterborne diseases are not only spreading faster, but also appear to be emerging mo...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/6/2320 |
| _version_ | 1797442289794023424 |
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| author | Tchamie Kadja Chengkun Liu Yvonne Sun Vamsy P. Chodavarapu |
| author_facet | Tchamie Kadja Chengkun Liu Yvonne Sun Vamsy P. Chodavarapu |
| author_sort | Tchamie Kadja |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global health crises due to the prevailing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have placed significant strain on health care facilities such as hospitals and clinics around the world. Further, foodborne and waterborne diseases are not only spreading faster, but also appear to be emerging more rapidly than ever before and are able to circumvent conventional control measures. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) system is a well-known diagnostic tool for many applications in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food and water quality assessment. Here, we describe the design, development, and testing of a portable, low-cost, and real-time PCR system that can be used in emergency health crises and resource-poor situations. The described PCR system incorporates real-time reaction monitoring using fluorescence as an alternative to gel electrophoresis for reaction analysis, further decreasing the need of multiple reagents, reducing sample testing cost, and reducing sample analysis time. The bill of materials cost of the described system is approximately $340. The described PCR system utilizes a novel progressive selective proportional–integral–derivative controller that helps in reducing sample analysis time. In addition, the system employs a novel primer-based approach to quantify the initial target amplicon concentration, making it well-suited for food and water quality assessment. The developed PCR system performed DNA amplification at a level and speed comparable to larger and more expensive commercial table-top systems. The fluorescence detection sensitivity was also tested to be at the same level as commercially available multi-mode optical readers, thus making the PCR system an attractive solution for medical point-of-care and food and water quality assessment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:39:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3fbd42fd407646b6a66c6dc2c5f4090e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:39:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-3fbd42fd407646b6a66c6dc2c5f4090e2023-11-30T22:19:20ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-03-01226232010.3390/s22062320Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical DiagnosisTchamie Kadja0Chengkun Liu1Yvonne Sun2Vamsy P. Chodavarapu3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469, USADepartment of Biology, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469, USAGlobal health crises due to the prevailing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have placed significant strain on health care facilities such as hospitals and clinics around the world. Further, foodborne and waterborne diseases are not only spreading faster, but also appear to be emerging more rapidly than ever before and are able to circumvent conventional control measures. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) system is a well-known diagnostic tool for many applications in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food and water quality assessment. Here, we describe the design, development, and testing of a portable, low-cost, and real-time PCR system that can be used in emergency health crises and resource-poor situations. The described PCR system incorporates real-time reaction monitoring using fluorescence as an alternative to gel electrophoresis for reaction analysis, further decreasing the need of multiple reagents, reducing sample testing cost, and reducing sample analysis time. The bill of materials cost of the described system is approximately $340. The described PCR system utilizes a novel progressive selective proportional–integral–derivative controller that helps in reducing sample analysis time. In addition, the system employs a novel primer-based approach to quantify the initial target amplicon concentration, making it well-suited for food and water quality assessment. The developed PCR system performed DNA amplification at a level and speed comparable to larger and more expensive commercial table-top systems. The fluorescence detection sensitivity was also tested to be at the same level as commercially available multi-mode optical readers, thus making the PCR system an attractive solution for medical point-of-care and food and water quality assessment.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/6/2320polymerase chain reaction (PCR)fluorescence sensinglow-cost PCRproportional–integral–derivative (PID) controllerpoint-of-care diagnosticsCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Tchamie Kadja Chengkun Liu Yvonne Sun Vamsy P. Chodavarapu Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical Diagnosis Sensors polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fluorescence sensing low-cost PCR proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller point-of-care diagnostics COVID-19 |
| title | Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical Diagnosis |
| title_full | Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical Diagnosis |
| title_fullStr | Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical Diagnosis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical Diagnosis |
| title_short | Low-Cost, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction System for Point-of-Care Medical Diagnosis |
| title_sort | low cost real time polymerase chain reaction system for point of care medical diagnosis |
| topic | polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fluorescence sensing low-cost PCR proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller point-of-care diagnostics COVID-19 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/6/2320 |
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