Automated Synthesis or Sequencing Apparatus and Method for Making and Using Same

A method for analyzing one reaction site, a small ensemble of reaction sites, a medium ensemble of reaction sites and a large ensemble of reaction sites comprising the step of:

• providing a continuous substrate including a zone, where the zone includes one or a plurality of sparsely distributed binding sites;
• passing the continuous substrate through one or a plurality of component introduction stations adapted to introduction the components required to immobilize and produce active sites in the zones, each site including at least one detectable agent having a detectable property, where the agents and the properties are the same or different;
• passing the continuous substrate including active sites through a detection system, where reactions and/or interactions occurring at the sites within a viewing field are detected in a detector of the detection system to produce detected event signals, and
• analyzing the detected event signals to convert the signals into data about the detected events.

A method for analyzing one reaction site, a small ensemble of reaction sites, a medium ensemble of reaction sites and a large ensemble of reaction sites comprising the step of:

• providing a continuous substrate including a zone, where the zone includes one or a plurality of sparsely distributed binding sites;
• passing the continuous substrate through one or a plurality of component introduction stations adapted to introduce components required to immobilize and produce pre-active sites in the zones, each site including at least one detectable agent having a detectable property, where the agents and the properties are the same or different;
• passing the continuous substrate including the pre-active sites through a mapping station, where the pre-active sites are mapped relative to a grid associated with a viewing field of the mapping detector,
• passing the continuous substrate including the pre-active sites through an initiation station, where one or a plurality of initiators are introduced into or onto the zones to convert some or all of the pre-active sites into active sites within the zones;
• passing the continuous substrate including the active sites through a detection system, where reactions and/or interactions occurring at the sites within a viewing field are detected in a detector of the detection system to produce detected event signals, and
• analyzing the mapped and detected event signals to convert the signals into data about the detected events.