thermocycler

1. THERMOCYCLER
Submitted by,
Moksha T
Jr.M.Sc.(Hort.)
Vegetable science
COH, Bengaluru
UNIVERSITY OF HORTICULTURAL SCIENCES, BAGALKOT
COLLEGE OF HORTICULTURE, BENGALURU
Submitted to,
Dr. Shankarappa K S
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Plant Pathology.
COH, Bengaluru

2. Introduction
• PCR machine is also known as thermal cyclers or
DNA amplifiers
• A PCR machine is an instrument that amplifies
target nucleic acid sequences into millions of copies
via polymerase chain reaction
• Thermal cyclers inherit their name because they
regulate temperatures in a cyclical program
G- Storm GS4 Thermal cycler
system

3. • In 1987, the first commercial thermal cycler,
was TC1 DNA Thermal Cycler designed by
Perkin Elmer Cetus (American Global
Corporation)
• Principle: “the basic technological principle of
heating block is the Peltier effect. By reversing
the direction of current between two
semiconductors, the heating and cooling phases
are alternated. A PCR thermal cycler can thus
very quickly reach temperatures between 4oC
and 96oC required for the PCR”.
Principle of Thermocycler
TC1 DNA Thermal cycler

4. Parts of a PCR machine

5. How does a thermocycler work?
• A thermal cycler is a programmable apparatus that works in order to hold materials at
different temperatures
• It consists of a heating block that has depressions or holes so as to hold sample tubes or
sample vessels
• When the apparatus is programmed for PCR, it operates at specific temperatures for
specific amount of time
• The programming can be done by the users with the help of a console on the thermal
cycler or a computer
• Sometimes the instrument comes with a built-in pre-programmed routine

6. Role of the thermocycler in PCR
1. It is the most important technology for scientists who want to make use of polymerase chain
reaction (PCR)
2. Thermocycler tightly controls the fluctuation in the temperature needed for annealing,
denaturation, and extension
3. It also regulates the number of cycles
4. The thermocyclers which are used nowadays are fully programmable and enable rapid
cooling and heating and hence the tighter control of the PCR

7. Types of thermocycler
Real time
thermocycler
Digital
thermocycler
Fluorescence
thermocycler
Peltier effect
thermocycler
Microfluidic
thermocycler
LAMP thermocycler

8. Applications
• Carrying out the polymerase chain reaction of DNA for scientific experiments
• Helping in maintaining the temperature during biochemical reactions such as DNA
cloning for sequencing, DNA amplifying, and DNA-based phylogeny
• Heating and cooling the DNA samples for genotyping
• Carrying out genetic tests that are helpful in clinical diagnosis of certain diseases
• Creating thermal gradients in order to find the optimal PCR conditions in experiments
like primer annealing

9. Precautions while using PCR Machine
• Only tubes and plates designed for the PCR machine should be used
• Before running, double-check tubes and, in particular, plates are tightly sealed
• Solution spills should be cleaned up, and biohazard containers should be used for disposal
• Be cautious when using a PCR machine lid. If you drop or bang lids, this could get broken
• Once, the use of the PCR machine is finished, it should be turned off
• Prior to beginning a run, make sure the PCR heating block is clean. Before beginning, inspect
every tube holder
• Ensure that the lid sits flat against the top of the tubes for even heating and sealing, distribute
the tubers evenly over the block

10. Examples of PCR machines
Biometra TAdvanced Thermal
Cycler Series (Analytik Jena)
MiniAmp™ Plus Thermal Cycler
(ThermoFisher Scientific)
PCR Thermal Cyclers (Esco)
GET-S series thermal cycler (Bio-gener)