In analytical chemistry, various reagents are necessary to detect the presence or absence of a substance, or for checking the occurrence of a specific reaction. For identifying or measuring a target substance, medical and laboratory technicians need to use reagents that cause a biological or chemical reaction to occur. For instance, biotechnologists consider oligomers, model organisms, antibodies, and specific cell lines as reagents for identifying and manipulating cell matter. Such reagents, especially those that biotechnologists use, have narrow operating temperature windows and therefore, require freezing or refrigeration.
If kept at room temperature, these temperature-sensitive reagents may degrade, becoming contaminated by microbial growth, thereby affecting their testing integrity. Most of these reagents will degrade and deteriorate within hours if stored without proper and precise refrigeration. Moreover, some reagents will be negatively affected if the storage temperature is tool low, or if they are subjected to multiple thaw-freeze cycles. Precise monitoring and stabilization of temperature below ambient is critical for extending the life of reagents, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of medical and laboratory tests, and keeping replacement costs down.
Manufacturers are using thermoelectric-based cooling solutions for precise temperature control. These are solid-state heat-pump devices, moving heat via the thermoelectric effect. In operation, direct current flowing through the cooler creates a temperature differential across the module. This allows one side of the thermoelectric cooler to get cold, suitable for heat absorption, while the other side heats up, making it possible to dissipate heat.
In actual operation, manufacturers typically connect thermoelectric coolers to forced convection heat sinks on the hot side to help dissipate the heat to the ambient. The action is reversible, such as by reversing the current flow, the thermoelectric cooler can be made to heat the cold side. Adequate control circuitry and the dual capability of the thermoelectric cooler enables capabilities of precise temperature control in the unit.
Compared to regular technologies like compressor-based systems, thermoelectric coolers such as the CP10-31-05 from Laird Thermal Systems Solutions deliver accurate temperature control in a more compact, stable, efficient, and reliable package. No refrigerants are necessary for the operation, making them friendly to the environment.
Featuring no moving parts and solid-state construction, the CP series of thermoelectric coolers operate extremely reliably, with no noise, and at low power. Their small footprint allows designers to increasingly integrate them into various instruments with easy flexibility and because of their solid-state operation, they can mount them in any orientation.
The Laird Thermal Systems Solutions has designed their CP series as compact and rugged thermoelectric cooling products. They operate at higher currents, making them suitable for large heat-pumping applications like storage systems for reagents. Designers mount the CP series of coolers near the storage chamber for accurately and closely regulating the temperature within the reagent chamber. The CP series of coolers offer a direct-to-air configuration, with a maximum cooling power of about 125 Watts and a temperature differential of 67 °C at ambient temperatures of 25 °C.
The CP series of thermoelectric coolers are available in a wide range of capacities, shapes, and power ranges for meeting the wide range of requirements suited to reagent cooling.
