Development of a portable low-cost real-time PCR system

Real-time PCR instrument monitors the fluorescence emitted during PCR reaction as an indicator of amplicon production during each PCR cycle. It has been used for specific detection and quantification of nucleic acid targets. However, the lack of affordable and portable real-time PCR system tends to limit laboratory infrastructure and near field testing. In this work, we proposed a portable affordable real-time PCR system designed by using commercial available off-the-shelf items. The dimension and the weight of the system are equal to 220 mm × 150 mm × 400 mm and 3.6 kg respectively. The prototyping cost of proposed system is equal to USD 2665. The temperature ramp rate of proposed system is equal to 3.0 °C/s. It is successfully amplified DNA sample and recorded fluorescence signal.