Patent ID: 7771933

Claim:
Apparatus for independently controlling temperature in discrete regions of a spatial array of reaction zones, said apparatus comprising: a plurality of thermoelectric modules thermally coupled to said regions with a separate module for each region; an electric power supply electrically coupled to said thermoelectric modules; means for independently controlling the magnitude of electric power delivery from said electric power supply to each thermoelectric module, thereby maintaining the temperature of each region independently of other regions; and heat pipes arranged to provide thermal couplings between said thermoelectric modules and either said regions or heat sink means, wherein said spatial array of reaction zones is defined by a plurality of wells joined in a fixed planar array, and wherein each of said wells has a base with an elastic closure, and said apparatus further comprises a thermally conductive support block with indentations complementary in shape and spatial distribution to said wells except for a protrusion within each indentation positioned such that when said wells are pressed against said support block said protrusions press against said elastic closures and thereby stretch said elastic enclosures around said protrusions to provide each said well with an internal surface area that is increased by an amount corresponding to said protrusion.