High-throughput PCR

The number of PCR samples that can be simultaneously processed has been dramatically increased over existing practices by using a new polycarbonate 864-well microwell plate and a modified air cycling oven. In thirty 9-min cycles, four plates containing 3455 samples can be amplified in 4.5 h. Amplification is rapid, uniform and reliable from sample to sample and run to run. This PCR method can satisfy the Human Genome Project's need for high-throughput sample analysis using PCR.