Carriers for combinatorial compound libraries

A method of synthesizing and deconvoluting a combinatorial compound library comprising the steps of:

• (a) apportioning in a stochastic manner among a plurality of reaction vessels a plurality of carriers on which a plurality of different compounds can be synthesized, said plurality of carriers comprising a population of detectably distinct carriers, each carrier pre-encoded with a code that distinctively identifies the carrier from other carriers and that is characterized by at least two detectable and/or quantifiable attributes integrally associated with the carrier, each of said attributes detectably varying among a plurality of individual carriers within the population of carriers, wherein one of said attributes is not shape or surface deformation of the carrier, and wherein said at least two detectable attributes comprise at least two light-emanating attributes comprising a light scattering feature and a molecular fluorescence feature,
• wherein individual carriers comprise all the attributes that define their corresponding code before step (c);
• (b) determining and recording the codes of said plurality of carriers in order to track the movement of individual detectably distinct carriers into particular reaction vessels of said plurality of reaction vessels, wherein said codes are determined prior to step (d);
• (c) reacting the carriers of step (a) in each reaction vessel with a synthon;
• (d) pooling the carriers from each reaction vessel;
• (e) apportioning the pooled carriers of (d) in a stochastic manner among the plurality of reaction vessels;
• (f) reacting the carriers in each reaction vessel of (e) with another synthon;
• (g) recording the codes of said plurality of carriers in order to track the movement of individual detectably distinct carriers into particular reaction vessels of said plurality of reaction vessels, wherein said codes are recorded after step (e) or step (f);
• (h) pooling the carriers from each reaction vessel;
• and
• (i) iterating steps (e) through (h) to create a combinatorial compound library, wherein member compounds of the library are associated with the detectably distinct carriers and wherein codes of the detectably distinct carriers are deconvolutable using tracking data provided by said recordal steps (b) and (g) to identify the sequence of reactions experienced by the said detectably distinct carriers.

A method of producing a population of detectably distinct carriers on which a plurality of different polymers can be synthesized, each carrier pre-encoded with a code that distinctively identifies the carrier from other carriers in said population, comprising the steps of:

• (a) preparing a plurality of carriers having a plurality of different codes, wherein each carrier has a code that identifies that carrier, said code characterized by at least two detectable and/or quantifiable attributes integrally associated with the carrier, each of said attributes detectably varying among a plurality of different individual carriers within the plurality of carriers, wherein one of said attributes is not shape or surface deformation of the carrier, and wherein said at least two detectable attributes comprise at least two light-emanating attributes comprising a light scattering feature and a molecular fluorescence feature;
• (b) detecting said attributes of each carrier, thereby determining a code for each individual carrier;
• (c) identifying a population of carriers having distinctive codes;
• (d) identifying carriers having non-distinctive codes;
• and
• (e) separating the carriers having distinctive codes from the carriers having non-distinctive codes to provide a population of detectably-distinct carriers.

A method for directing the synthesis of a combinatorial library of oligomers, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) prior to coupling, assigning a predetermined oligomer sequence to each of a plurality of carriers, wherein each of said plurality of carriers comprises a distinguishable feature;
• (b) sorting said plurality of carriers into a plurality of reaction vessels, wherein the vessel into which each carrier is sorted is determined by the oligomer assigned to each carrier based on said distinguishable feature, and wherein each carrier is sorted independently of the other carriers;
• (c) performing a reaction to couple a chemical moiety to each carrier in each vessel, wherein the chemical moiety is the same or different in different vessels;
• and
• (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) at least once, wherein, in each step, a subsequent chemical moiety is coupled to the previously added chemical moiety to produce a plurality of oligomers, thereby directing the synthesis of a combinatorial library of oligomers.