Thermal cycler for even heating of one or more samples

Abstract

A thermal transfer device applies a uniform heat to a plurality of samples. The thermal transfer device takes advantage of the natural thermal gradient pattern of a heat exchanging device and arranges the samples along isothermal lines of the heat exchanger. By arranging the samples in this manner, at least two problems are specifically addressed. First, the temperature applied within each sample is uniform. Second, the symmetrical arrangement of the samples guarantees that each sample is exposed to exactly the same conditions as the neighboring samples.

1 . An apparatus to apply a uniform heat exchange with a sample, the apparatus comprising:
 a. a heat exchanger having a thermal gradient pattern that includes a plurality of isotherms; and   b. a sample container thermally coupled to the heat exchanger, wherein the sample container is configured to hold a fluid sample and the sample container is shaped to align with a specific isotherm of the heat exchanger such that the entire fluid sample is aligned with the specific isotherm to uniformly exchange heat between the entire fluid sample and the specific isotherm.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the thermal gradient pattern is a bulls-eye pattern, and the plurality of isotherms form a series of concentric rings extending radially from a center of the bulls-eye pattern. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a Peltier device. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a thermal cycler that cycles between a first temperature and a second temperature, thereby heating and cooling the fluid sample within the sample container. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a heat generating device. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a cooling device. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the sample container is configured as a flow-through container having a first open end and a second open end. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 5  further comprising an input conduit coupled to the first open end of the flow-through container and an output conduit coupled to the second open end of the flow-through container. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger includes a channel into which the sample container is positioned. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus to apply a uniform heat exchange with a plurality of samples, the apparatus comprising:
 a. a heat exchanger having a thermal gradient pattern that includes a plurality of isotherms; and   b. a plurality of sample containers thermally coupled to the heat exchanger, wherein each sample container is configured to hold a sample and all of the plurality of sample containers are aligned with a specific isotherm of the heat exchanger such that the entire sample within each sample container is aligned with the specific isotherm to uniformly exchange heat between the entire sample in each of the plurality of sample containers and the specific isotherm.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the thermal gradient pattern is a bulls-eye pattern, and the plurality of isotherms form a series of concentric rings extending radially from a center of the bulls-eye pattern. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a Peltier device. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a thermal cycler that cycles between a first temperature and a second temperature, thereby heating and cooling the fluid sample within each of the plurality of sample containers. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a heat generating device. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a cooling device. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein one or more of the plurality of sample containers are configured as flow-through containers having a first open end and a second open end. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16  further comprising an input conduit coupled to the first open end of each flow-through container and an output conduit coupled to the second open end of each flow-through container. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the heat exchanger includes a plurality of channels into each of which one of the plurality of sample containers is positioned. 
     
     
         19 . An apparatus to apply a uniform heat exchange with a plurality of samples, the apparatus comprising:
 a. a heat exchanger having a thermal gradient pattern that includes a plurality of isotherms; and   b. a plurality of sample containers thermally coupled to the heat exchanger, wherein each sample container is configured to hold a sample and each of the plurality of sample containers are positioned across the same multiple different isotherms such that corresponding segments of each sample container are aligned with the same one of the multiple different isotherms, thereby uniformly applying a same temperature profile to the fluid samples in all of the plurality of sample containers.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein the thermal gradient pattern is a bulls-eye pattern, and the plurality of isotherms form a series of concentric rings extending radially from a center of the bulls-eye pattern. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a Peltier device. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a thermal cycler that cycles between a first temperature and a second temperature, thereby heating and cooling the fluid sample within each of the plurality of sample containers. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a heat generating device. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a cooling device. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein one or more of the plurality of sample containers are configured as flow-through containers having a first open end and a second open end. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25  further comprising an input conduit coupled to the first open end of each flow-through container and an output conduit coupled to the second open end of each flow-through container. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein the heat exchanger includes a plurality of channels into each of which one of the plurality of sample containers is positioned.