Instrument and method for the automated thermal treatment of liquid samples

An instrument for the automated thermal treatment of liquid samples, comprising:

• a temperature-controlled receptacle configured to be loaded with a plurality of vessels for containing said samples, said receptacle being configured to form a thermal communication with said loaded vessels;
• a detection module equipped with a detection arrangement provided with one or more detectors configured to detect light emitted from said samples and a coupling arrangement provided with a plurality of optical fibers configured to transmit said emitted light to said detection arrangement, wherein said optical fibers have first and second end portions, said first end portion and said second end portion of each optical fiber being fixed with respect to each other;
• and
• a moving mechanism configured to move said coupling arrangement and/or said receptacle to vary an inter-distance between said coupling arrangement and said receptacle so as to allow the vessels to be loaded to or unloaded from said receptacle and to allow detection of light from samples contained in said one or more receptacle-loaded vessels,
• wherein the fixation of the first end portion and the second end portion of each optical fiber with respect to each other avoids mechanical forces acting on the optical fibers during a vertical movement of the detection module.

An instrument for the automated thermal treatment of liquid samples, comprising:

• a temperature-controlled receptacle configured to be loaded with a plurality of vessels for containing said samples, said receptacle being configured to form a thermal communication with said loaded vessels;
• a detection module equipped with a detection arrangement provided with one or more detectors configured to detect light emitted from said samples and a coupling arrangement provided with a plurality of optical fibers configured to transmit said emitted light to said detection arrangement, wherein said optical fibers have first and second end portions, said first end portion and said second end portion of each optical fiber being fixed with respect to each other;
• and
• a moving mechanism configured to move said coupling arrangement and/or said receptacle to vary an inter-distance between said coupling arrangement and said receptacle so as to allow the vessels to be loaded to or unloaded from said receptacle and to allow detection of light from samples contained in said one or more receptacle-loaded vessels,
• wherein the fixation of the first end portion and said second end portion of each optical fiber with respect to each other avoids changes of the shape of the optical fibers during variation of the inter-distance between said coupling arrangement and said receptacle.