BME Master's Defense Announcement for Riley J. Brown (J. Linnes, advisor) Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 12:00 pm. Title: Characterization and Implementation of Screen Printed, Flexible PTC Heaters for Portable Diagnostic Testing Date: April 20th Time: 12:00 pm Location: Birck 1001 and Zoom - https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/95178617829?pwd=QnlmMmIrZU9zWWNqZ2I2eFNaMW9Edz0... Thesis Committee: Dr. Jacqueline Linnes (chair), Dr. Lia Stanciu, and Dr. Orlando Hoilett Abstract: The 2020 pandemic emphasized the need for accessible and accurate point-of-care diagnostic tests. With the continued development of isothermal nucleic acid amplification tests, this can be achieved. A requirement of these tests includes heating and holding a specific temperature, in this case, 65℃ for 30 minutes, for amplification to occur. To achieve this, heaters often require external feedback to control the temperature; bringing up the device’s cost. Several self-regulating heaters have been made with materials having a positive thermal coefficient of resistance eliminating the need for complex circuitry. With this property, point-of-care diagnostic tests can be simplified and made more accessible. In this study, ink-based positive thermal coefficient of resistance heaters are developed and characterized using the scalable method of screen printing to achieve 65℃ and aid in the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Various curing methods and screen-printing parameters were evaluated to improve the stability and understanding of the reproducibility of the heaters. The longevity of the heaters was evaluated with oxidation studies and a COMSOL model was created to study the heat transfer within the device. Furthermore, the heaters were successfully implemented into a second-generation electronic point-of-care diagnostic device. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using a self-regulating heater removes the need for complex circuitry, improving the accessibility of point-of-care tests with the potential to be expanded to a wide range of pathogen detection.