A multi-well microfiltration apparatus and method are provided and feature a manual touch-off system for transferring pendent drops hanging from discharge-conduits of a discharge-conduit array to respective receiving wells or receiving holes of a corresponding receiving array, with minimum or no cross-contamination between the discharge conduits, or the receiving wells or receiving holes. The manual touch-off is achieved by manually shifting a carriage that supports one of the arrays, into a position whereat pendent drops of fluid hanging from the distal ends of the discharge conduits contact the inner sidewalls of the corresponding receiving wells or receiving holes of the receiving array.
This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/120,797, filed May 3, 2005, which in turn is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/359,665, filed Feb. 6, 2003, which in turn is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/104,335, filed Mar. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,849 B2, issued May 24, 2005, which in-turn is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/552,301, filed Apr. 18, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,827 B1, issued Jul. 16, 2002, which in-turn is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/182,946, filed Oct. 29, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,368, issued Dec. 12, 2000, both the applications and the patents being incorporated herein, in their entireties, by reference.
