Patent ID: 8357490

Claim:
An integrated instrument for performing de novo synthesis of a plurality of oligonucleotides and real time PCR amplification of a target nucleic acid, said integrated instrument comprising: an oligonucleotide synthesizer unit for performing de novo synthesis of a plurality of oligonucleotides; a real time PCR thermocycler unit for performing amplification of a target nucleic acid; an interface unit operatively linking said synthesizer unit and said thermocycler unit; and a central processing unit which controls said synthesizer unit, said thermocycler unit, and said interface unit, such that subsequent to de novo synthesis of said plurality of oligonucleotides said interface unit automatically transfers a plurality of said oligonucleotides to said thermocycler unit, whereby said thermocycler unit automatically performs said amplification of said target nucleic acid with said plurality of said oligonucleotides.