FYI, from Alex Cerise http://www.cherrybiotech.com/

In collaboration with the Institut Curie and the ENS Paris, we developed a system allowing an 0.1°C precise and stable temperature control on a large 5 to 45°C range.

Publication : Guilhem Velve Casquillas et al. Lab Chip, 2011, 11, 484–489

Abstract:

One major advantage of using genetically tractable model organisms such as the fission yeast

Schizosaccharomyces pombe is the ability to construct temperature-sensitive mutations in a gene. The

resulting gene product or protein behaves as wildtype at permissive temperatures. At non-permissive or

restrictive temperatures the protein becomes unstable and some or all of its functions are abrogated.

The protein regains its function when returning to a permissive temperature. In principle, temperature sensitive

mutation enables precise temporal control of protein activity when coupled to a fast

temperature controller. Current commercial temperature control devices do not have fast switching

capability over a wide range of temperatures, making repeated temperature changes impossible or

impractical at the cellular timescale of seconds or minutes. Microfabrication using soft-lithography is

emerging as a powerful tool for cell biological research. We present here a simple disposable

polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based microfluidic device capable of reversibly switching between 5 _C

and 45 _C in less than 10 s. This device allows high-resolution live cell imaging with an oil immersion

objective lens. We demonstrate the utility of this device for studying microtubule dynamics throughout

the cell cycle.