Rapid thermal cycling for PCR reactions using enclosed reaction vessels and linear motion
OwnerBenjamin Albert Suhlinventor
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Abstract
A system for fast, accurate and inexpensive thermal cycling is disclosed including a set of thermally conductive plates that are maintained in a fixed spatial relationship to each other, and separated from each other by a thermal insulating space. A hole having a size approximately equal to a size of a desired test sample is formed through the set of thermally conductive plates. The test sample is placed in the hole and moved back and forth between the different temperature plates, to the desired temperature locations for desired time periods, in a pattern that is determined by the user, and repeated as many times as needed for the specific process.
Claims14
An apparatus for performing a thermal cycling process, comprising:
- a set of thermal material plates, each thermal material plate fixed relative to the others and separated from the others by a thermal insulating layer;
- at least one channel traversing the set of thermal material plates;
- and
- a sample container vessel enabled to traverse the at least one channel to selected locations relative to selected ones of the set of thermal material plates at a selected time and rate of motion, dwell at the selected thermal material plate for a selected time periods, and traverse to another selected location repeatedly;
- wherein the sample container vessel is enabled to traverse the at least one channel by a set of rods comprising:
- a first rod connect to a top of the sample container vessel and to a moving plate positioned above the set of thermal material plates;
- a second rod connected to a bottom of the sample container vessel, and to a moving plate positioned below the set of thermal material plates;
- the moving plates are each attached to a motion apparatus that manipulates the moving plates together in the direction of the channel in the thermal material plates at selected rates, distances and times.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.