Methods and materials for multiplexed collections of functional ligands

A method for generating and utilizing a nucleic acid array comprising:

• providing a substrate with a plurality of single-stranded nucleic acid labels located and attached at predetermined addresses on said substrate, said single-stranded nucleic acid labels comprising an identical hybridization sequence and having a spacing region between said hybridization sequence and said substrate;
• performing a hybridization of a single-stranded nucleic acid ligand to each of said plurality of single-stranded nucleic acid labels, each of said single-stranded nucleic acid ligands being potential aptamers with a complementary region to said hybridization sequence and a target binding region which is identical for each of said single-stranded nucleic acid ligands hybridized to one of said single-stranded nucleic acid labels at one of said predetermined addresses, wherein the identity of said single-stranded nucleic acid ligand hybridized at each predetermined address is known and is previously correlated to binding at least one target molecule, each of said hybridizations of said single-stranded nucleic acid ligands and said single-stranded nucleic acid labels comprising a signal interacting pair producing a signal interaction;
• incubating said substrate with a sample;
• and
• performing a detection operation to detect potential changes in said signal interactions after said incubating correlated to said addresses;
• wherein said potential changes indicate binding of said at least one of said known target molecules to at least one of said plurality of single-stranded nucleic acid ligands when said potential change occurs after adding said sample.