Patent ID: 8232097

Claim:
A thermal cycler for at least one reaction mixture, comprising: a bearing element carrying the at least one reaction mixture; a heating element raising a temperature of the at least one reaction mixture, the heating element comprising a housing, at least one carbon nanotube structure and a pair of electrodes, the at least one carbon nanotube structure and the pair of electrodes being accommodated in the housing, the pair of electrodes being electrically connected to the at least one carbon nanotube structure, wherein the housing defines a space and at least part of the at least one carbon nanotube structure is suspended in the space; a first cooling element cooling the temperature of the at least one reaction mixture; and a temperature controller electrically connected to the heating element and the first cooling element, the temperature controller controlling the operation of the heating element and the first cooling element, wherein airflow is generated in a flow direction from the first cooling element to the bearing element, and the at least one carbon nanotube structure is substantially parallel to the flow direction such that heat is transferred to the bearing element according to the airflow.