Rotary reagent tray assembly and method of mixing solid-phase reagents

A method of selectively agitating liquid in a container, comprising:

• providing plural liquid-bearing containers each having a first end and an opposite second end, each container comprising at least one internal baffle for imparting turbulent agitation to a liquid within the respective container when flowing from one end of the container to an opposite end thereof;
• providing a circular tray rotatable about a vertical axis of rotation and having plural container-receiving stations arranged on the tray radially about the vertical axis, each station is inclined at an angle with respect to a horizontal plane and adapted to receive and selectively retain a respective liquid-bearing container in an orientation whereby the respective container, once disposed on the station, is inclined between about five degrees and twenty degrees with respect to the horizontal plane towards said vertical axis, and whereby the first end of the respective container, proximate the axis of rotation, is disposed lower than the second end of the container, distant from the axis of rotation;
• disposing one of the plural containers on a respective container-receiving station;
• enclosing the circular tray and plural container-receiving stations with a circular cover portion for providing a temperature-controllable environment for the liquid in each of the plural liquid-bearing containers;
• supporting a plurality of thermoelectric Peltier devices on an upper surface of the cover portion for enabling temperature control of the environment within the cover portion;
• and
• agitating the liquid within each of the plural containers by selectively rotating said tray about the vertical axis of rotation via a motor in mechanical engagement therewith, whereby centrifugal force, associated with rotation or rotational acceleration of the tray, causes said liquid in each container to travel from the first end of the container to the second end of the container via the at least one internal baffle;
• and
• further agitating the liquid using gravitational force that is associated with a cessation of rotation or rotational deceleration of the tray with respect to the vertical axis of rotation, causing said liquid in each container to travel from the second end of the container to the first end of the container via the at least one internal baffle.