Porous wafer for segmented synthesis of biopolymers

A modular chemically inert wafer for synthesizing biopolymers comprising:

• a solid phase support material, derivatized to covalently bind a biopolymer residue;
• an inner housing ring having inner and outer walls comprising an inner reaction chamber formed by the inner walls of said ring and coaxially extending there through for receiving and retaining said support material, said retaining ring being open at both ends;
• an inert porous membrane positioned at and extending across each of said open ends of said inner retaining ring such that an upper surface of said membrane defines the uppermost surface of said wafer, said membrane having a diameter larger than the outermost diameter of said housing ring so that said membrane extends beyond said outer wall;
• two outer sleeve-like rings having an inner diameter slightly larger than said inner ring and the thickness of said membrane for securing the edges of said membrane between said inner housing ring and said outer sleeve-like rings;
• wherein said solid phase support, inner housing support, inner housing ring, inert porous membrane and outer ring are capable of maintaining integrity in the presence of iodine and at pH values above 9.0 and below 3.0;
• and
• wherein said wafers are adapted to be abuttably stacked in a multiple relationship.

A process for synthesizing biopolymers, comprising the steps of:

• assembling a chemically inert wafer;
• using the phosphoramidite method of synthesizing polynucleotides comprising detritylation, condensation, oxidation and capping;
• repeating said method to sequentially add nucleotides until the desired biopolymer is completely synthesized;
• and
• releasing the completed biopolymer from the solid support, removing protecting groups and recovering said biopolymer in substantially purified form.

A process for synthesizing biopolymers comprising the steps of:

• making a first stack of more than one modular chemically inert wafer wherein each said wafer is abuttably positioned next to at least one other wafer;
• adding at least one biopolymer residue to at least one biopolymer residue bound to support material of said wafer;
• removing at least one wafer from said first stack of wafers and placing said removed wafer in a second stack of wafers;
• repeating the making of a stack, the adding and removing steps until each desired biopolymer is completely synthesized wherein a different biopolymer residue is added in each stack;
• releasing said completed biopolymer from the solid support deprotecting said biopolymers;
• and
• recovering said biopolymer in substantially purified form.

A modular chemically inert wafer for synthesizing biopolymers, comprising:

• a solid phase support material, derivatized to covalently bind a biopolymer residue;
• a retaining ring having inner and outer walls, for retaining said support material in a chamber formed by the inner walls and coaxially extending there through said retaining ring;
• upper and lower porous means positioned at each end of said retaining ring wherein said porous means allow flow through said retaining ring to said support material and prevent migration of said support material from said retaining ring;
• wherein said solid phase support material, said retaining ring, and said upper and lower porous means are capable of maintaining integrity in the presence of iodine, at pH values above 9.0 or below 3.0;
• and
• wherein said wafers are adapted to be abuttably stackable in a multiple relationship.

A biopolymer synthesizer comprising:

• a plurality of reservoirs for synthesis solvents and reagents;
• a plurality of reservoirs for biopolymer residue derivatives to be sequentially condensed to form the biopolymer;
• a plurality of columns equal to the number of derivative reservoirs, wherein said columns are comprised of at least one chemically inert wafer, said wafer including a solid phase support material derivatized to covalently bind a biopolymer residue, an upper and lower porous means to allow said derivatives and solvent/reagents to flow through said column and a retaining means with inner and outer walls forming a reaction chamber with said porous means;
• said derivative reservoirs and solvent/reagent reservoirs being connected to said columns through means for delivering said derivatives and solvent/reagent through controllable valves to supply said derivatives and solvent/reagents to said columns.

A process for simultaneous chemical synthesis of a multiplicity of biopolymer sequences, comprising the steps of:

• assembly of modular chemically inert wafers in abuttably stacked relationship to form a multiplicity of wafer columns;
• sequentially passing reagents through wafer columns to effect addition of a different biopolymer residue to growing biopolymers contained within each column;
• reassortment of wafers into a new abuttably stacked relationship to provide for synthesis of a multiplicity of biopolymer sequences;
• repetition of residue addition steps comprising assembly of columns, biopolymer residue addition, and reassortment of wafers, until synthesis of the desired multiplicity of biopolymer sequences has been achieved.

A column for synthesizing biopolymers comprising:

• a plurality of snappers each containing a wafer in the center;
• each snapper containing a groove for a sealing ring;
• said snappers forming a fluid tight column by compression;
• and
• said snappers capable of disengaging and repeatedly forming new columns.