Patent ID: 7560073

Claim:
A sample support, comprising at least one sample receiving chamber for a sample liquid, a distributor channel for sample liquid, connected to said at least one sample receiving chamber, with at least one such distributor channel extending from said at least one sample receiving chamber, more than one reaction chamber comprising a cavity which is delimited by surfaces and is entered by an inflow channel branched off said at least one distributor channel, wherein each reaction chamber comprises a bottom surface and a side surface which forms an angle with respect to the bottom surface, and a venting opening for each reaction chamber, and valves arranged in each distributor channel and/or the venting openings of the reaction chambers or downstream thereof for causing a controlled flow of the sample liquid through the distributor channel or channels into reaction chamber or chambers, wherein each valve comprises a burst film and/or comprises a porous hydrophobic insert and/or comprises a hydrophobic inner wall and each valve can be switched hydraulically and pneumatically, respectively, from a closed condition into an open condition by external control and/or by application of pressure onto the sample liquid or the as bearing against the valve and each distributor channel and each inflow channel is dimensioned to have the liquid transport through the distributor and inflow channels effected by capillary forces, wherein, in each reaction chamber, said surfaces in the entrance region of the inflow channel which are provided for delimiting said cavity, are configured as a means for generating a capillary force causing the sample liquid to flow from the inflow channel into the reaction chamber exclusively by capillary force, and wherein said capillary force generating means is realized by a sufficiently small rounding radius in the transition region between said side surface and said bottom surface to cause sample liquid to flow along said transition regions under the effect of capillary forces.