Importance

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Abstract

Chemical, biological, and/or biochemical reaction systems, including chips or reactors, may be configured so as to restrain immiscible materials such as gas bubbles from interfering with the determination of environmental factors associated with the chip according to one aspect of the invention. In another aspect, a chip or other reaction system may be configured to maintain a gas headspace in the chip or other reaction system. In certain embodiments, impediments such as physical barriers may be used to contain gas bubbles within a gas containing region, or otherwise away from a detection region. In other embodiments, surface tension properties may be used to control the location of gas bubbles. The chip or other reaction systems may include reaction site containers that can be very small, for example, having a volume of less than about 2 ml. In certain embodiments, chips or other reaction systems of the invention include one or more reaction sites, which, in some cases, may be defined by reaction site containers. According to another aspect of the invention, a reaction site container may be shaped to limit the formation of gas bubbles during the filling of the reaction site container with liquid by providing reaction site container shapes that do not include sharp angles or abrupt changes in reaction site container width.

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First Claim