Patent ID: 8658042

Claim:
A microplate washing device with a microplate carrier for carrying a microplate, the microplate having an array of wells and a footprint according to the SBS standard, as published by the American National Standards Institute, the wells comprising a center, a floor, and walls, the wells further comprising magnetic particles, the magnetic particles being suspended in a liquid with or without samples adhering thereto; wherein the microplate carrier comprises 108 permanent magnets generating magnetic fields to collect and retain the magnetic particles on the floor and/or on the walls of the wells of the microplate; wherein all of the permanent magnets of the microplate carrier have an identically oriented polarity and an upper face and a magnetic axis, which magnetic axis of each permanent magnet is at least essentially perpendicular to the footprint of the microplate; wherein the permanent magnets of the microplate carrier are situated so that for the microplate that is placed on the microplate carrier in a processing position, two of the permanent magnets are situated diametrically opposite in relation to each well of said microplate each well of the microplate being situated above the upper faces of the two permanent magnets of the microplate carrier assigned to said well; and wherein all the permanent magnets of the microplate carrier have an identically-oriented polarity; wherein the permanent magnets are oriented with their magnetic axes along column axes 1 to 12 of a 96 well standard microplate placed on the microplate carrier, so that for each well of said microplate the well center is located in the middle between two adjacent permanent magnets arranged in the respective column axis and assigned to said well and that said two adjacent permanent magnets generate an at least essentially particle-free space in the well assigned thereto, the at least essentially particle-free space extending over essentially the entire diameter of the well transversely to a column axis connecting said two adjacent permanent magnets.