Patent ID: 7579172

Claim:
An apparatus for amplifying nucleic acids, which comprises: a substrate; a reaction vessel formed inside of the substrate, a body portion of the reaction vessel having a first serpentine shape and a starting end portion of the reaction vessel, which is disposed upstream of the body portion of the reaction vessel, having a second serpentine shape different from the first serpentine shape; at least one first inlet channel formed inside the substrate, connected to an end of the reaction vessel; a plurality of droplets disposed in the reaction vessel, wherein the droplets have a shape which is determined by the first inlet channel and comprise a reactant aqueous solution containing reactants for nucleic acid amplification; a second inlet channel formed inside the substrate, connected to the end of the reaction vessel; a fluid disposed in the reaction vessel, wherein the fluid has a flow rate determined by the second inlet channel and is phase-separated from the reactant aqueous solution and does not participate in amplification reaction; a third inlet channel formed inside the substrate, connected to the end of the reaction channel; at least one selected from a negative control aqueous solution and a positive control aqueous solution for quantitative assay disposed in the reaction vessel, wherein the at least one selected from a negative control aqueous solution and a positive control aqueous solution have a shape which is determined by the third inlet channel; and a heating unit to heat the substrate, wherein the fluid surrounds the plurality of reactant aqueous solution droplets and the nucleic acids are amplified in the reactant aqueous solution droplets.