The long term objective is to develop an incubator consisting of a highly efficient array of 96 separate microplate radiant heaters and thermistors for incubating microplate-based assays (e.g. ELISA) in conjunction with Chromogen's AM instrument. Individual control of microwell heating will provide highly precise incubation condition for a wide variety of research and diagnostic applications when combined with the amplifying effects of AM. Phase I aims involve use of an existing heater prototype 96-position radiant heater assembly, mounted in an AM instrument, to determine experimentally ramping rate and time, precision, and accuracy: to determine the diminution of solid-phase ELISA immunochemistry; and to design, build and test an improved second-generation heater assembly, based on experimental results. Thermocouples will be installed in the microprobes of the AM instrument to provide temperature sensing during heating and acoustic stirring. A prototypical ELISA test will be used to determine how rapidly microwells can be heated to the desired maintenance temperature without inactivating the chemistry. In contrast to large thermal mass dry block heaters or hot air incubators, the radiant heater array will allow for rapid and consistent microwell heating, well-to-well variation of +/-0.1 C, and elimination of the thermal inconsistencies (e.g., the """"""""edge effect"""""""") which can result in spurious test results.""""""""
