Patent ID: 7179656

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a) a well-plate containing one well or a plurality of wells, each well having a bottom surface; b) a finger plate located above the well plate forming a plate free space, wherein the finger plate contains one or more recesses; c) one or more fingers located inside each recess, each finger having a bottom end having an end surface thereon, wherein each of the fingers extend downwards into one of the wells, forming a well space between each finger and the corresponding well and recess, wherein the well space and the plate free space together form a channel, the bottom end surface of each finger being positioned a predetermined distance from the bottom surface of the well; d) a means for sealing the channel around the outside perimeter of the wells and fingers; e) a means for heating the well plate; and f) means for cooling the fingers such that the fingers are at a lower temperature than the wells.