Patent ID: 8906325

Claim:
A vacuum assist apparatus comprising: a substantially planar microplate having a first microplate surface and a continuous opposing second microplate surface; a plurality of wells formed in said first microplate surface of said microplate, each of said plurality of wells being sized to receive an assay therein; a thermocycler block having an upper surface configured for engaging the second surface of the microplate, the upper surface defining a plurality of channels, the channels defining spaces between the thermocycler block and the second surface of the microplate that may be positioned thereon; a vacuum device in fluid communication with the thermocycler block for drawing gas out of the spaces defined by the channels in the thermocycler block, the vacuum device configured for substantially maintaining a vacuum between the thermocycler block and microplate so that a retention force is imparted on the microplate to urge the microplate toward the thermocycler block; and a control system operatively connected with the support base the control system configured for cycling the thermocycler block through a sequence of times and temperatures.