A method of preparing a discrete polymer network array include mixing a plurality of nucleic acid polymer networks with a plurality of color-activated polymer networks to form a dispersion, applying the dispersion to an array of wells, the nucleic acid polymer networks selectively depositing into wells of the array of wells, and rinsing the array of wells to selectively remove the plurality of color-activated polymer networks.

Provided herein are biomolecular hybridization devices comprising a substrate with a permanently and covalently attached surface of functional groups and an adsorbed monolayer of unmodified, single-stranded oligonucleotides all of which are 10 to about 24 bases in length as a saturated film of constrained oligonucleotides on the surface via direct non-covalent phosphate-surface adsorptive contact of substantially all phosphate groups of each oligonucleotide. The constrained oligonucleotides are effective to dissociably hybridize to a complementary single-stranded nucleic acid with asymmetric, non-helical base pairing and without oligonucleotide dissociation from the surface of the device. Also, provided are methods for hybridizing solution-state target nucleic acids to probe nucleic acids and for identifying a nucleotide sequence to which a nucleotide-binding protein binds using the biomolecular hybridization devices.

A method of characterizing candidate agents including steps of (a) providing a library of candidate agents attached to nucleic acid tags; (b) contacting the library with a solid support to attach the candidate agents to the solid support, whereby an array of candidate agents is formed; (c) contacting the array with a screening agent, wherein one or more candidate agents in the array react with the screening agent; (d) detecting the array to determine that at least one candidate agent in the array reacts with the screening agent; (e) sequencing the nucleic acid tag to determine the tag sequences attached to candidate agents in the array; and (f) identifying the at least one candidate agent in the array that reacts with the screening agent based on the tag sequence that is attached to the at least one candidate agent.

An oriented loading system is provided. The oriented loading system includes a substrate, a plurality of wells formed in the substrate, each well having a bottom and sidewalls, a plurality of particles loaded in the wells, wherein the particle comprises a core structure and an inner layer comprising magnetic material partially covering the core structure such that a part of the core structure uncovered by the inner layer is exposed, and a metal layer comprising magnetic material deposited partially in the sidewalls of the wells, wherein the inner layer is attracted by the metal layer such that the exposed core structure is oriented towards the bottom of the well or the inner layer is oriented towards the bottom of the well.

Protein arrays and their use to assay, in a parallel fashion, the protein products of highly homologous or related DNA coding sequences and described. By highly homologous or related it is meant those DNA coding sequences which share a common sequence and which differ only by one or more naturally occurring mutations such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, deletions or insertions, or those sequences which are considered to be haplotypes. Such highly homologous or related DNA coding sequences are generally naturally occurring variants of the same gene. Arrays according to the invention have two or more individual proteins deposited in a spatially defined pattern on a surface in a form whereby a property such as an activity or function of the proteins can be investigated or assayed in parallel by interrogation of the array.

A method of retrieving a subset of polynucleotide molecules from a mixture of polynucleotide molecules includes receiving a mixture of nucleotide sequences comprising one or more polynucleotide molecules, synthesizing one or more identifier (ID) regions onto the one or more polynucleotide molecules, and sequencing members of the population of polynucleotide molecules to associate the sequence of one or more of the molecules (the Polynucleotide Sequence) with the sequence of the attached ID region (the ID Sequence). The method also includes generating a bead-bound library of one or more beads comprising subsets of identical polynucleotide molecules. Each bead is identified by the ID Sequence of the associated Polynucleotide Sequence. The method further includes sequencing the one or more ID regions of each bead to generate ID Sequence information for each bead, combining the Polynucleotide Sequence information, the one or more ID Sequences, and coordinates of each bead to identify the Polynucleotide Sequence on the bead, and retrieving the bead with its associated Polynucleotide Sequence from the flow cell based on the absolute coordinate position of the bead.

A method and system for heating and/or inspecting a portable microfluidic assay cartridge for performing an assay includes receiving the assay cartridge on a receiving region of a translatable table under automated control, heating the cartridge, during performance of the assay, with a planar radiant heater plate, the heater plate having an aperture through which an inspection axis extends, and/or inspecting the cartridge using an optical system constructed to inspect the cartridge along the inspection axis by reading a fluorescent light signal which passes through the aperture in the heater plate. In addition, the cartridge moves with movement of the translation table, and the heater plate and optical system may be stationary, and the inspection axis may be fixed.

The disclosure pertains to a microfluidic cartridge comprising at least one microchannel and at least a set of functionalized microcarriers, the microcarriers being localized within the microchannel, wherein the functionalized microcarriers are coated with at least a lyoprotectant. The disclosure further pertains to a process of manufacture of a microfluidic cartridge according to the invention, said process comprising: providing a microfluidic cartridge comprising at least one microchannel and at least a set of functionalized microcarriers, preferably in suspension in a buffer solution, the microcarriers being localized within the microchannel; flowing a stabilizing buffer into the at least one microchannel and incubating the functionalized microcarriers with said stabilizing buffer for at least 10 minutes, wherein the stabilizing buffer is a composition comprising a lyoprotectant, preferably wherein the lyoprotectant is chosen from the list consisting of sugars and sugar alcohols and mixtures thereof; and drying the at least one microchannel.

There is disclosed a process for in vitro synthesis and assembly of long, gene-length polynucleotides based upon assembly of multiple shorter oligonucleotides synthesized in situ on a microarray platform. Specifically, there is disclosed a process for in situ synthesis of oligonucleotide fragments on a solid phase microarray platform and subsequent, on device assembly of larger polynucleotides composed of a plurality of shorter oligonucleotide fragments.

The present invention provides methods for increasing polymerase processivity. In some aspects the invention includes providing a polymerase-nucleic acid complex having a nucleic acid comprising a template strand, and the template strand is entrapped in the polymerase through anchors that are covalently connected to each other across the nucleic acid binding cleft of the polymerase. In some cases the anchors comprise cysteines.