Patent ID: 7947442

Claim:
An instrument for amplifying and detecting nucleic acids, comprising: a device for subjecting a sample to amplification and/or nucleic acid hybrid melting reactions, wherein the device comprises a thermal cycler, and an apparatus for emitting and detecting light, comprising: at least two reaction regions, wherein the thermal cycler applies specific temperature cycles to the reaction regions, an excitation module comprising a rotary wheel, said rotary wheel comprising at least two excitation light sources capable of providing excitation light of at least two different wavelength spectra, at least two first light guides, each first light guide being capable of directing light emitted from one of said excitation light sources to at least one of said reaction regions, at least two second light guides, each second light guide being capable of directing light emitted from one of said reaction regions to an emission module, an emission module, said emission module being capable of detecting beams emitted from each of the at least two reaction regions separately and simultaneously, said emission module comprising at least two detectors and a rotary filter wheel, said rotary filter wheel being positioned between said at least two second light guides and said detectors, and a control unit configured to the activity of said excitation light sources and of said emission module, wherein said rotary wheel comprises at least two excitation light sources and said control unit is configured to rotate said excitation light sources relative to the position of said first light guide, allowing at least one of said excitation light sources to emit light to one defined first light guide; wherein the rotation of said rotary wheel carrying said excitation light sources and the rotation of said rotary filter wheel of said emission module are electronically coupled and controlled by the control unit; and wherein said control unit is configured to rotate said rotary filter wheel in such a manner that for each reaction region, a filter on said rotary filter wheel having a transmission spectrum corresponding to the emission spectrum of light emitted from said reaction region when excited by excitation light is between said detector and said at least two second light guides when said reaction region is excited by said excitation light.