A Novel Molecular Diagnostic Device Using Solid-Phase PCR on a Hotwire Optical Fibre Grating

The usage of fibre optic technologies presents the possibility of high volume manufacturing at low costs when used with novel diagnostic assays. In this thesis, the technologies of hotwire fibre optic devices are combined with in-fibre Bragg gratings to produce a platform compatible with the developing field of Solid Phase PCR (SP-PCR). Here we demonstrate that the DNA coating of such devices can be performed with economical UV-cross-linking. In the process of validating the platform for SP-PCR usage we have also created a novel assay for monitoring real-time polymerase enzyme activity on solid-surface-attached DNA sequences. The device can function with SP-PCR in real-time through its usage of Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF). Our device demonstrates the ability to spatially separate several reactions on a single fibre, representing a novel fibre application, and has the potential to reliably increase the speed and multiplexability of the SP-PCR reactions.