Patent ID: 7955573

Claim:
In a method for amplifying a plurality of samples of DNA in an array of sample wells of a multi-well sample plate, said method comprising (a) separating double strands of said DNA into single strands, (b) annealing oligonucleotide primers to target sequences of said single strands, and (c) extending said primers with nucleotide bases in the presence of DNA polymerase, steps (a), (b), and (c) performed in said sample wells with thermal cycling, the improvement in which said multi-well sample plate is supported by a multiple sample support comprising: a rigid block of unitary construction bounded by two parallel planar surfaces defined as a top surface and a bottom surface, a series of sample wells in said rigid block that are arranged in a planar array and that open at said top surface, a series of hollows in said block residing between said wells and periodically spaced within said block but not intersecting with said wells and wherein said hollows are elongated hollows extending parallel to said top and bottom surfaces; and further wherein said rigid block has a length and a width, and said hollows comprise a first set of straight passages running lengthwise through said rigid block and a second set of straight passages running transverse to, and intersecting with, said first set to form a network of intersecting passages.