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US 6,307,042 B1Granted
Substrate preparation process
AssigneeAffymetrix, Inc.
InventorsMartin Goldberg, Martin Diggelman, Earl Hubbell, Glenn McGall, Nam Quoc Ngo, MacDonald Morris, Mel Yamamoto, Jennifer Tan, Richard P. Rava
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides novel processes for the large scale preparation of arrays of polymer sequences wherein each array includes a plurality of different, positionally distinct polymer sequences having known monomer sequences. The methods of the invention combine high throughput process steps with high resolution photolithographic techniques in the manufacture of polymer arrays.
Claims10
A method of forming a plurality of individual polymer arrays, comprising:
- providing a plurality of substrate wafers, each of said substrate wafers having a first surface, said first surface having functional groups disposed thereon, said functional groups being protected with a removable protecting group;
- exposing a plurality of first known locations on said first surface of each of said substrate wafers to an activator at an activation station to remove said removable protecting groups from said functional groups in said first known locations;
- moving said substrate wafers batch-wise to a coupling station;
- contacting said plurality of wafers with a monomer containing solution at said coupling station, to couple the monomers to said functional groups in said known locations on said surface of said plurality of substrate wafers;
- returning said substrate wafers batch-wise to said activation station;
- repeating said exposing, moving and contacting steps at further known locations on said plurality of substrate wafers to form a plurality of individual polymer arrays on said first surface of each of said substrate wafers.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.