Traditional thermocyclers are heating devices that change sample temperatures by adding heat energy into a sample block that is usually a large metal block and then extracting that heat energy out of the block in a process called ramping the temperature. Presented herein is a technology that eliminates the large mass sample block and ramping temperatures in a sample block and thus in a sample vessel. This design called a Thermal Array requires a fraction of the energy used to process a sample. In addition, the array allows a much smaller thermal cycler to be designed leading to portability of a device. This technology is designed to allow optimal polymerase chain reactions to be executed.
1. A portable thermal-cycling device, comprising:
a first heating element surrounded by insulation on five sides and embedded in a cooling block;
a second heating element surrounded by insulation on five sides and embedded in the cooling block; and
wherein the first and second heating elements are separated by a portion of the cooling block, wherein the cooling block comprises at least one Peltier element.
2. A portable thermal-cycling device, comprising:
two arrays opposite each other and forming a sample channel, each array comprising two or more heating elements surrounded by insulation on five sides and embedded in a cooling block; and
a reaction vessel within the sample channel.