Patent ID: 8709824

Claim:
A method for reducing contamination during the processing of aqueous solutions in an automated system comprising a robotic or automated pipetting system, the method comprising: a) providing a plurality of open sample vessels, the sample vessels comprising an aqueous solution; b) covering said aqueous solutions with a contamination barrier comprising at least one water immiscible hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon mixture to completely form a film on the aqueous solutions, wherein the at least one water immiscible hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon mixture comprises branched or unbranched alkanes of from 8 to 12 carbon atoms; c) pipetting and processing the aqueous solutions under the contamination barrier by penetrating the contamination barrier with the robotic or automated pipetting system; and d) obtaining a plurality of processed aqueous solutions with reduced cross-contamination between the aqueous solutions as compared to processed aqueous solutions that do not have the contamination barrier present, wherein said cross-contamination is reduced by at least a factor of two.