| | Thermal cycler including a temperature gradient block - Patent 6054263 |
 | | For example, there are a number of thermal "cyclers" used for DNA amplification and sequencing in the prior art in which one or more temperature controlled elements or "blocks" hold the reaction mixture, and the temperature of a block is varied over time. |
 | | By incorporating the gradient block of the invention into a multiple block thermal cycler, it is possible to simultaneously conduct a series of reactions where the temperature at which the reactions are proceeding is varied across the gradient block. |
 | | Further, multiple thermal gradient blocks could be employed as more than one block of a multi-block thermal cycler where samples are automatically moved between the various blocks, thereby allowing for multiple reactions to be operated at multiple temperatures. |
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