Combination Vessel Holder for Heat Block Incubation

Abstract

A device for use with a heat source, a multi-well sample plate, and a plurality of samples includes a substantially solid block of thermally conductive material having a first side and a second side generally opposite the first side; a first array of apertures on the first side of the block that aligns with wells of a first portion of the sample plate; and a second array of apertures on the second side of the block; wherein, in a first mode, the first array of apertures retains and engages with the sample plate to conduct heat from the heat source to the plate, and in a second mode, the second array of apertures retains and engages with the samples to conduct heat from the heat source to the samples. Two blocks may be combined together to accommodate a standard 96 well plate.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A device for use with a heat source, a multi-well sample plate, and a plurality of samples, the device comprising:
 a substantially solid block of thermally conductive material having a first side and a second side generally opposite the first side;   a first array of apertures on the first side of the block that aligns with wells of a first portion of the sample plate; and   a second array of apertures on the second side of the block;   wherein, in a first mode, the first array of apertures retains and engages with the sample plate to conduct heat from the heat source to the plate, and in a second mode, the second array of apertures retains and engages with the samples to conduct heat from the heat source to the samples.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive material includes aluminum. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the sample plate has a rectangular array of perpendicular wells for samples and the first array of apertures in the block is a rectangular array of apertures that align with a first half of the wells in the sample plate. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3 , further comprising a second block having a second rectangular array of apertures that align with a second half of the wells in the sample plate, thereby providing a multi-well plate container system. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the sample plate has an 8×12 array of perpendicular wells for samples and the first array of apertures in the block is an 8×6 array of apertures that align with a first half of the wells in the sample plate. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , further comprising a second block having a second 8×6 array of apertures that align with a second half of the wells in the sample plate, thereby providing an 8×12 well plate container system. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the samples are test tubes and the apertures on the second side of the block are adapted to retain and engage with the test tubes. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the samples include liquid DNA material and the block conducts heat from the heat source to the material. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the apertures on the second side of the block have at least two different diameters so that multiple sizes of samples may be utilized. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a handling element on the first side of the block that, when the sample plate is in place, is accessible by a user to help handle the device. 
     
     
         11 . A combination vessel holder, comprising:
 a first thermally conductive block having an array of apertures on a plate side adapted to retain a first half of a multi-well plate; and   a second thermally conductive block having an array of apertures on a plate side adapted to retain a second half of the multi-well plate in conjunction with the first block;   wherein either the first block, the second block, or both blocks further have a second side, generally opposite the plate side, adapted to retain a plurality of test tubes in an alternate usage.   
     
     
         12 . The combination vessel holder of  claim 11 , wherein the sample plate has an 8×12 rectangular array of perpendicular wells, and the arrays of apertures on the blocks are configured into 8×6 arrays that align with wells in the sample plate. 
     
     
         13 . A method of incubating a material, comprising:
 providing two substantially solid blocks of thermally conductive material, each block having a first side and a second side generally opposite the first side, a first array of apertures on the first side of the block that aligns with wells of half of a multi-well sample plate that contains the material, and a second array of apertures on the second side of the block that are adapted to retain the material in an alternate usage;   aligning the two blocks side-by-side;   placing the multi-well plate on the two blocks so that the blocks retain and engage with the wells of the plate; and   heating the blocks, thereby incubating the material in the wells of the plate.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the sample plate has an 8×12 rectangular array of perpendicular wells, and the first arrays of apertures on the blocks are configured into 8×6 arrays that each align with a half of the wells in the sample plate.