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According to the drinking water regulation, drinking water systems must be tested for harmful contamination at specified intervals. To meet the legal requirements and save costs and time, a portable analysis method is to be developed. For this purpose, a concept study was conducted. It describes a portable measuring device for the quantitative detection of legionella using real-time PCR. The study includes the construction elements and conditions that are necessary for the collection, processing, and evaluation of the sample. It was found that commercially available PCR systems do not meet the size requirements and can only be represented by an in-house development. In addition, a microfluidic system must be developed that is designed for one-time use and low production cost.
In this paper, different concepts for mixing sample and master mix by means of simulation are discussed. The main focus was on mixers with a low dead volume, because of their relevance to PCR. In addition, a concept for aliquoting the mixed solution was elaborated and simulated. The simulation showed very good mixing with serpentineand tesla-mixers at flow rates of 1-16 µL/s. Furthermore, a uniform distribution with aliquoting could be achieved, while a slight dependence between flow rate and pressure was observed. In the further course, these concepts are to be combined and tested on a microfluidic chip. This can then be integrated into the workflow of existing PCR protocols.