DIYbio:Notebook/Open Thermal Cycler/Use Cases
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Use cases of a thermal cycler:
- A user has X DNA and wants to increase the quantity of X, or quantity of Y (a subsequence of X) in order to:
- Sequence the DNA -- more quantity is needed
- Send DNA to a friend
- Transform cells -- more quantity is needed
- Archive DNA
- A user wants to study their genome
- Small SNP-sensitive sets of primers are used to amplify DNA. Electrophoresis is used to image PCR product, where short bands indicate SNP match/mismatch (Kay Aull)
- A user wants to extract DNA sequence Z from organism O. The user knows short sequences surrounding the region (primers) -- unknown sequence is needed
- A user has DNA and wants to create copies that are each a little bit different
- Error prone PCR
- A user wants a sequence of DNA but doesn't want to synthesize it
- Use primers + sequence X to create more of sequence X
- A user wants to determine what tree is in their backyard using a simple test (~1 species/sample)
- Amplify species-specific DNA + digestion + gel electrophoresis + imaging ==> Webpage showing species
- A user wants to determine what bacteria are on a crosswalk button (100+ species/sample) (Jason Bobe)
- Amplify species-specific DNA + sequencing
- A user wants to combine a sequence onto a known sequence (tailing - per Jake)
- i.e. take a sequence and make add biobrick ends onto it
- A user wants to synthesize a gene (Alec Nielsen)
- Assemble shorter (~60bp), overlapping oligos into a large, contiguous strand of DNA
- A user wants to screen for successfully transformed cells (Alec Nielsen)
- Colony PCR: screen successful transformants from "background" colonies by PCRing many colonies with primers for the desired vector
Advanced use cases:
- The user wants to observe gene expression in cells over a time period (Josh Perfetto)
- User is presented with a graph showing the change in expression over time, or other desired result (RT PCR)
The Pain of Current Thermal Cyclers: Price - thermal cyclers Interface - current models are Application -
The Open Thermal Cycler:
Design something a great number of current non-thermocycler users will use.