US 8,026,094 B2 · Microarray synthesis instrument and method

Abstract

During the light illumination period of a monomer addition cycle in synthesizing an DNA microarray, undesirable reflections of illumination light from various interfaces that the illumination light passes through near the synthesis surface of the substrate may reduce the light-dark contrast, and negatively affect the precision and resolution of the microarray synthesis. The present invention provides an flow cell that reduces the undesired reflections by constructing certain flow cell structures with materials that have similar refractive indexes as that of the solution that is in the oligomer synthesis chamber during the illumination period and/or constructing certain flow cell structures or covering the structures with a layer of a material that has a high extinction coefficient.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A flow cell for synthesizing a microarray of DNA probes, the flow cell comprising:

a substrate having a refractive index and a probe synthesis surface;
a block behind and adjacent the substrate, the block and the probe synthesis surface defining a probe synthesis chamber, the block having a refractive index and comprising a light-exiting surface on a side facing away from the chamber;
an anti-reflective layer on the light-exiting surface of the block;
and
a probe synthesis medium in the chamber,
wherein the block comprises a material having a refractive index matched to that of the medium that is in the reaction chamber during an illumination period, the match of the refractive indexes being sufficient so as to minimize refraction occurring at the interface between the block and the chamber.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Microarray synthesis instrument and method

Life of this patent

Microarray synthesis instrument and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims7