Polymerase chain reaction, microwave

The same concept of volumetric in situ heating by microwaves was also exploited by Larhed and coworkers in the context of scaling-up a biochemical process such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [25], In PCR technology, strict control of temperature in the heating cycles is essential in order not to deactivate the enzymes involved. With classical heating of a milliliter-scale sample, the time required for heat transfer through the wall of the reaction tube and to obtain an even temperature in the whole sample is still substantial. In practice, the slow distribution of heat... 

Apart from the traditional organic and combinatorial/high-throughput synthesis protocols covered in this book, more recent applications of microwave chemistry include biochemical processes such as high-speed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [2], rapid enzyme-mediated protein mapping [3], and general enzyme-mediated organic transformations (biocatalysis) [4], Furthermore, microwaves have been used in conjunction with electrochemical [5] and photochemical processes [6], and are also heavily employed in polymer chemistry [7] and material science applications [8], such as in the fabrication and modification of carbon nanotubes or nanowires [9]. 

MICROWAVE HEAT-ASSISTED POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION... 

Microwave radiation increased the rate 1- to 14-fold and the ee 3- to 9-fold (up to 92% ee for one isomer and 96% ee for the other) in the lipase-catalyzed esterification of an alcohol with vinyl acetate.34 Ultrasound increased the rate 7-to 83-fold. Directed evolution can occasionally be used to improve the enantioselectivity of lipases. A lipase for the hydrolysis of racemic p-nitrophenyl 2-methyldecanoate that gave 2% ee was run through four generations of error-prone polymerase chain reactions to raise the selectivity to 81% ee.35... 

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