Patent ID: 7449304

Claim:
A method of enhancing the efficiency of an enzymatic process for removal of contaminating dNTPs or ddNTPs in a reaction mixture comprising: a) incubating on a hydrophobic surface a reaction mixture comprising a reactant or product and a contaminant comprising dNTPs or ddNTPs from an earlier-performed reaction selected from the group consisting of an amplification reaction, sequencing reaction and genotyping reaction, and an enzyme that removes or inactivates said contaminant at a first temperature which is optimal for the activity of said enzyme; b) raising the temperature of said reaction mixture to a second temperature which is higher than said first temperature to promote desorption of said contaminant from said surface and thereby increasing its accessibility to said enzyme, wherein a substantial amount of said enzyme is not denatured at said second temperature; c) repeating steps a) and b) to reduce the amount of contaminant in said reaction mixture; and d) raising the temperature of said reaction mixture from step c) to a third temperature to inactivate or denature said enzyme; wherein said enzyme is alkaline phosphatase.