The present invention relates to a liquid heater (6) for an analyzer, including a heating element (602), and at least a first liquid chamber (604) and a second liquid chamber (606), which do not communicate with each other in the heater (6), wherein at least one liquid chamber is accommodated in another liquid chamber, the heating element (602) heats the liquid in one liquid chamber, and the heated liquid heats the liquid in the other liquid chamber. In the liquid heater, the liquid in at least one liquid chamber is not in direct contact with the heating element and is indirectly heated by the heat transfer of the heated liquid, thereby avoiding the problem that corrosive liquid corrodes the heating element, and accordingly the service life of the heating element is prolonged; and on the other hand, the problem that two heaters are respectively used for heating separately, resulting in large installation volume and high cost is avoided, the volume of the liquid heater is reduced, and the cost is reduced.

The present invention relates to a heat preservation shell (4) for an analyzer. At least one liquid passage (402) for conveying the liquid is embedded in a shell wall of the heat preservation shell. The liquid passage (402) is embedded in the shell wall of the heat preservation shell (4), on one hand, the liquid transported or preserved in the liquid passage is subjected to the heat preservation function of the heat preservation shell, so that the liquid transported or preserved in the liquid passage (402) maintains the preset temperature, thereby avoiding the influence of the external environment temperature on the transported liquid; and on the other hand, the space of the shell wall of the heat preservation shell is effectively utilized, the situation that various liquid pipelines are intricately distributed inside or outside the heat preservation shell (4) is avoided, thereby increasing the space utilization rate.

An apparatus for thermal processing of nucleic acid in a thermal profile. The apparatus employs a reactor holder for holding reactors to accommodate reaction material containing nucleic acid. The apparatus includes at least two baths separated by thermally insulating partition plate(s) where bath mediums are each maintainable at a predetermined temperature; and a transfer means for allowing the reactors to change position once or plurality of times between any two adjacent baths by selectively opening the partition plate(s) and without lifting the reactors out of the baths.

Apparatus and method for thermal processing of nucleic acid in a thermal profile is provided. The apparatus employs a reactor holder for holding reactor(s) each accommodating reaction material containing the nucleic acid. The apparatus comprises a first bath; and a second bath, bath mediums in the baths being respectively maintainable at two different temperatures T.sub.HIGH and T.sub.LOW; and a transfer means for allowing the reactor(s) to be in the two baths in a plurality of thermal cycles to alternately attain: a predetermined high target temperature T.sub.HT, and a predetermined low target temperature T.sub.LT, while the apparatus adapts to a temperature-offset feature defined by at least one condition from the group consisting: a) the T.sub.HT is lower than the T.sub.HIGH, b) the T.sub.LT is higher than the T.sub.LOW, and c) the conditions at a) and b).

An apparatus for thermally processing reaction material containing nucleic acid is provided. A reaction material is contained in reactors. The apparatus includes a reactor holder for statically holding the reactors; at least two heating means each being maintainable at a user specifiable temperature; and a transport means for positioning the heating means to make a contact with the reactors one at a time for specified duration. The positioning is conductable once or over a plurality of times for thermally processing the reactors between a plurality of temperatures.

An apparatus for thermal processing nucleic acid in a thermal profile. The apparatus employs a reactor holder for holding reactor(s) each accommodating reaction material containing the nucleic acid. The apparatus includes a first bath; and a second bath, bath mediums in the baths being respectively maintainable at two different temperatures; and a transfer means for allowing the reactor(s) to be in the two baths in a plurality of thermal cycles to alternately attain: a predetermined high target temperature T.sub.HT, and a predetermined low target temperature T.sub.LT; and reciprocating means to enable relative reciprocating motion between the holder and at least one bath while the reactor(s) is/are placed in the at least one bath, the relative reciprocating motion being executable by shaking the bath or the holder or both.

A method and an apparatus for thermal processing of nucleic acid in a thermal profile. The method employs at least a first bath and a second bath, the method further employing a reactor holder for holding reactor(s) accommodating reaction material containing the nucleic acid. The method includes maintaining bath mediums in the baths at two different temperatures; and alternately allowing the reactor(s) to be in the two baths in a plurality of thermal cycles to alternately attain a predetermined high target temperature T.sub.HT, and a predetermined low target temperature T.sub.LT, wherein the bath medium in at least one of the baths is a high thermal conductivity powder.

According to one embodiment, an automatic analyzer includes dispenser, measurer, thermostat, cooler and cleaner. Dispenser dispenses a specimen and a reagent into a reaction vessel. Measurer measures a solution mixture of the specimen and the reagent in the vessel. Thermostat heats the mixture to a first temperature at which thermoresponsive polymers contained in the reagent aggregate. Cooler cools a cleaning fluid used to clean the vessel to a second temperature lower than the first temperature, at which the polymers contained in the reagent disperse. Cleaner cleans the vessel from which the mixture has been drained, using the cooled fluid.

An automatic analysis device has a plurality of types of photometers having different quantitative ranges, and an analysis control unit for quantifying the desired component in specimens based on measurement values of one or more photometers selected from among the plurality of types of photometers. The analysis control unit: sets a switching region in an overlap region of respective quantitative ranges of the plurality of types of photometers, said switching region having a greater width than does the variation in quantitative values of the desired component based on the measurement values of photometers having the same specimen; compares the quantitative value of a quantitative range portion that corresponds to the switching region and the quantitative values of the desired component based on the measurement values of the photometers; and selects a photometer to be used in quantitative output of the desired component from among the plurality of types of photometers.

To be adapted to various types of latex reagents for detecting scattered light and thereby measuring agglutination reactions with high sensitivity while sufficiently ensuring integration time. To be adapted to various types of latex particles of different particle sizes, a plurality of light receivers are arranged in a plane perpendicular to the direction of cell movement by rotation of a cell disk. To ensure sufficient integration time, the angle between the optical axis of the irradiation light and each of a plurality of optical axes of scattered light viewed from above the cell is made equal to or less than 17.7? including a mounting error.