Assay devices for combinatorial libraries

A method to inhibit spill-over of an aqueous solution among wells during an assay of a combinatorial chemistry library, the method comprising:

• forming, onto a polymer block, a pattern of wells, wherein:
• each of the wells comprise cylindrical wells that are separated by partitions at a top surface of the polymer block,
• each well of the wells comprises a floor and a side wall between the floor and the top surface,
• wherein the forming of the pattern comprises:
• heating the polymer block to above a glass transition temperature of the polymer block and pressing circular prongs onto the polymer block, wherein the circular prongs have diameters and depths correlating to diameters and depths of the cylindrical wells;
• mold injecting the pattern onto the polymer block;
• or
• laser etching the pattern onto the polymer block;
• generating a first hydrophobic layer to be deposited onto the partitions, wherein the generating of the first hydrophobic layer comprises dissolving a solution of a biocompatible water repellant material in a solvent;
• applying the first hydrophobic layer onto the partitions, wherein the first hydrophobic layer inhibits spill-over of the aqueous solution among wells;
• applying a hydrophilic layer to the floor and the side wall of each well;
• and
• conducting the assay to determine genomic changes resulting from application of compounds, wherein the compounds are releasably bound to beads in each well, wherein the conducting of the assay comprises:
• adding the aqueous solution to each well;
• placing the beads and cells into each well, to be submerged within the aqueous solution, wherein the cells adhere to the hydrophilic film;
• applying a second hydrophobic layer over the first hydrophobic layer to displace aqueous solution between the wells;
• cleaving a subset of bonds between the compounds and the beads, thereby releasing a subset of the compounds from the beads to expose the subset of the compounds to the cells;
• and
• in response to releasing of the compound, capturing, by each of the beads, nucleic acid released from the cells, wherein changes in the nucleic acid are indicative of the genomic changes.