Heat exchange – Movable heating or cooling surface – Rotary drum
Patent
1990-09-18
1992-11-10
Davis, Jr., Albert W.
Heat exchange
Movable heating or cooling surface
Rotary drum
165 96, 165 61, 16510426, 16510421, 165 481, 435289, F28D 1502, F28F 2700
Patent
active
051616092
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a method and to apparatus for high speed regulation of the temperature of a plurality of wall zones, and also to applications of said method and said apparatus, in particular to operations in molecular biology including controlled temperature reactions such as operations in which DNA is treated by enzymes, for example.
Some of these operations require samples of cells or macromolecules to be subjected to thermal cycles including temperature levels each of which is determined very accurately both in duration and in temperature (.delta.T<0.1.degree. C.). In some cases, these temperature cycles need to be repeated many times.
For reasons of yield, it is also desirable to perform these operations simultaneously on a large number of samples. It is then necessary to be able to control the temperature of a large number of samples very accurately as a function of time, and to cause the temperature of these samples to vary uniformly, with the transitions between temperature levels being performed as quickly as possible so that the total duration of a given operation is compatible with industrial application (where the durations of the biological reactions per se cannot be reduced).
A particular object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for high speed regulation of a temperature, and enabling the conditions specified above to be satisfied.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and an apparatus of this type which are particularly suitable for performing operations of the above-mentioned type in molecular biology, said operations being performed simultaneously on a large number of biological samples.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and an apparatus of this type suitable for other applications in which the temperature of an item or a set of items is to be varied quickly and accurately, as happens, for example, in controlled wall temperature reactors, enzyme reactors, cellular reactors, polymerization reactors, the treatment or transformation of plastic materials, in photography (film processing), etc.
The invention therefore proposes a method of high speed temperature regulation of a plurality of wall zones, in particular of receptacles containing biological samples, for the purpose of subjecting them simultaneously to identical thermal cycles including successive stages of predetermined temperatures and durations, the stages being separated by sudden transitions, the method being characterized in that said wall zones are surrounded by a sealed closed enclosure containing a fluid which is suitable for heat transfer in liquid-vapor equilibrium and which is in thermal contact with said wall zones, said enclosure firstly enabling the vapor phase of the fluid to flow freely and secondly including an internal lining for capillary flow of the liquid phase of the fluid, and in that heat is taken from and given to said fluid by means of thermal exchange with at least one external source, thereby maintaining the temperature of said wall zones equal to a variable reference temperature by local condensation and vaporization of the fluid inside said enclosure, the variable reference temperature being imposed by the source.
The invention constitutes a novel and inventive particular application of the "heat pipe" technique which was used initially in space applications for quickly removing a large quantity of heat produced by an item that gives off heat, and in general this is constituted by the electronics package on board a satellite. A heat pipe is essentially a closed tube containing an internal coating of porous material for liquid capillary flow, and a determined fluid which remains in the liquid-vapor two-phase state inside the tube under the intended operating conditions. One of the two ends of the tube is connected to the item that gives off heat, and the other is connected to a surface that dumps heat to the outside by radiating it. Heat is transferred between the item that gives off heat and the outside within the heat pipe b
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Cohen Daniel
Dufau Frederic
Dutertre Bernard
Duval Dominique
Ginot Frederic
Bertin & Cie
Davis Jr. Albert W.
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