Patent ID: 8900811

Claim:
A method of performing thermal melt analysis of a nucleic acid in a microfluidic device, the method comprising: providing a microfluidic device comprising a microfluidic chip having at least two microfluidic channels, the at least two microfluidic channels each having an upstream portion and a downstream portion, introducing fluid comprising the nucleic acid and amplification reagents into at least one of the microfluidic channels so that the fluid flows from the upstream portion to the downstream portion of the channel, cycling the temperature in the upstream portion of a channel so that the nucleic acid undergoes amplification, performing a thermal melt denaturation comprising subjecting the fluid to a series of temperatures in the downstream portion of the channel, wherein the series of temperatures includes a temperature high enough to cause denaturization of the nucleic acid, and measuring a detectable property emanating from the fluid that is indicative of the extent of denaturation of the nucleic acid in the downstream portion: wherein the step of measuring the detectable property occurs concurrently in each microfluidic channel that received fluid during the introducing fluid step, wherein the upstream portion having fluid undergoing the amplification is subject to the same flow control as the downstream portion having fluid undergoing the thermal melt denaturation.