Patent ID: 8080412

Claim:
A multiwell incubation apparatus, comprising: a well-housing vessel made of a heat conducting material; wells to store liquid culture that are detachably housed in the well-housing vessel, the wells being arranged in transverse rows and longitudinal rows; a liquid or gas flow channel or bath in the well-housing vessel that contains a liquid and that carries a first gas from one side of the flow channel or bath and a second gas from an opposite side of the flow channel or bath, to supply the first and second gases each saturated with vapor of the liquid, at varying mixing ratios between the wells of a transverse row along the flow channel or bath, the multiwell incubation apparatus maintaining incubation temperatures differing between individual transverse rows of the wells with a predetermined temperature difference, so that the temperatures realize a temperature series which forms a predetermined temperature difference profile along the longitudinal rows; a heat source to realize a temperature which is a lowest in the temperature series, the heat source being disposed outside the well rows and along a closest transverse row to a first side of the well-housing vessel; another heat source to realize a temperature which is a highest in the temperature series, said another heat source being disposed outside the well rows and along a side of the well-housing vessel opposite to the first side; and a separator provided between each transverse row of a certain temperature.