Incubator, in particular for the polymerase chain reaction

The invention relates to an incubator (10) which is provided, in particular, for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The incubator (10) is provided with at least two reservoirs (14) of which each contains a liquid (16) which can be set to a defined temperature. In addition, an incubation chamber (12) is provided for receiving a holding device (50) for incubation cuvettes (52). The incubation cuvettes (52) situated in the incubation chamber (12) can be sequentially brought into contact as desired with the liquids (16) of the individual reservoirs (14). For this purpose, each reservoir (14) is connected to the incubation chamber (12) by a pipe (18, 24, 28; 20, 30, 34). Each pipe has a valve device (22). In addition, a device (26, 32, 38) for the selected transport of the liquid (16) of a reservoir (14) between the incubation chamber (12) and the corresponding reservoir (14) is provided between the incubation chamber (12) and the individual reservoirs (14). In order to accelerate the molecular motion of the reagents situated in the incubation cuvettes (52), the incubation chamber (12) can be provided with an ultrasonic generator (56) and/or with a microwave generator (58).