Patent ID: 8906685

Claim:
A hanging drop array plate comprising: a top surface and a bottom surface, said top surface bounded by one or more edges, a plurality of holes, each said hole extending from an opening in said top surface to an outlet at said bottom surface, said plurality of holes configured to accommodate a corresponding plurality of hanging drops formed by application of a liquid through said opening of each of said holes, wherein a single drop hangs from a respective one of each of said holes and distends under the influence of gravity beneath said outlet thereof to enable the culturing of cells therein, said bottom surface including a plateau feature surrounding each of said holes, said plateau feature configured to restrain a hanging drop to a confined region about the respective said hole; and said top surface including an upper reservoir configured to receive a body of liquid restricted from said plurality of holes for maintaining a substantially stable humidity above said plurality of holes, said upper reservoir disposed along one or more of said edges of said top surface.