Patent ID: 8221682

Claim:
A system for performing an amplification procedure at an incubation temperature within a prescribed temperature range, the system comprising: (A) an incubator comprising: (1) an incubator housing defining an incubation chamber; and (2) an incubator thermal element adapted to cause the temperature within said incubation chamber to be about the incubation temperature; (B) a fluid dispensing system configured to automatically dispense reagents for performing a nucleic acid amplification procedure into the reaction receptacle; (C) a temperature ramping station adapted to adjust the temperature of the contents of a reaction receptacle to approximate the incubation temperature, said temperature ramping station comprising: (1) a ramping station housing adapted to receive and hold a reaction receptacle; and (2) a ramping station thermal element adapted to cause the temperature within said ramping station housing to approximate the incubation temperature; (D) a receptacle transport mechanism constructed and arranged to automatically move said reaction receptacle between said temperature ramping station and said incubator; and (E) a system controller operatively coupled to said incubator, said temperature ramping station, said fluid dispensing system, and said receptacle transport mechanism and configured to: (1) cause said fluid dispensing system to dispense a reagent for performing a nucleic acid amplification procedure to a reaction receptacle that is provided to said temperature ramping station; (2) after retaining the reaction receptacle within said temperature ramping station for a predetermined length of time while subjecting the reaction receptacle and its contents to thermal energy to adjust the temperature of the contents of the reaction receptacle to approximate the incubation temperature, cause said receptacle transport mechanism to move the reaction receptacle from said temperature ramping station into said incubator; (3) control the temperature of the incubator to maintain the contents of the reaction receptacle at the incubation temperature; and (4) retain the reaction receptacle within said incubator for a predetermined period of time while maintaining the incubator at the incubation temperature to thereby subject the target nucleic acid to an amplification procedure that results in the formation of amplification products, each of the amplification products formed from the target nucleic acid having a nucleic acid sequence that is the same as or complementary to a target sequence contained within the target nucleic acid.