Figure 1
From: Ultrafast photonic PCR
Ultrafast photonic PCR. (a) Schematic of the plasmonic photothermal light-to-heat conversion and subsequent heating of the surrounding solution (here, the PCR mixture) through ultrafast photon–electron–phonon couplings. When a light is turned off, fast cooling of heated solution can be achieved by the heat dissipation through the thin Au film. (b) Schematics of the ultrafast photonic PCR using a thin gold (Au) film as a light-to-heat converter and excitation light from the LEDs. Thermal cycling, consisting of two or three discrete temperatures for denaturation, annealing and extension, is required for nucleic acid amplification through the PCR. For multiple PCR reactions, each LED could be modulated separately so that there are unique annealing temperatures for each primer design. LED, light-emitting diode; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.
