Patent ID: 7943348

Claim:
A method for amplifying nucleic acids, which comprises: introducing into a reaction vessel via different inlet channels a reactant aqueous solution containing reactants for nucleic acid amplification and a fluid that is phase-separated from the reactant aqueous solution and does not participate in amplification reaction; creating a plurality of reactant aqueous solution droplets surrounded by the fluid by contacting the reactant aqueous solution with the fluid in the reaction vessel; and amplifying the nucleic acids in the reactant aqueous solution droplets, wherein the reaction vessel comprises two primary reaction channels and a single secondary reaction channel connected to a terminal end of each of the two primary reaction channels, and the operation of introducing the reactant aqueous solution and the fluid into the reaction vessel, the operation of creating the reactant aqueous solution droplets, and the operation of amplifying the nucleic acids are performed in each of the two primary reaction channels, and wherein after the operation of amplifying the nucleic acids, the method further comprises: combining the reactant aqueous solution droplets in a starting end of the secondary reaction channel to create a plurality of combined reactant aqueous solution droplets in the secondary reaction channel; and amplifying the nucleic acids in the combined reactant aqueous solution droplets.