Performance evaluation of cost-optimized thermal cycler.

A polymerase chain reaction is a test method currently used in almost all process steps of a genetic manipulation experiment. It involves the amplification of the given genetic material targeted by the detection test. In consideration of the graphical user interface development environment or user accessibility, if a PC with the windows operating system or its embedded version can be employed as a host, it will contribute significantly to resource saving, including development-related human resources and time, along with enabling a broad use of the product. In this study, we focus on the low cost implementation of a PCR thermal cycler for the personal usage. It is aimed to drastically reduce the product development time and maintenance/repair costs. To achieve this, we implement the functions for biochemical process in a local embedded system, and the functions of data management, including the PCR protocol, and user-interface management are implemented on a PC.