High surface area coatings are applied to solid substrates to increase the surface area available for solid-phase synthesis of polymers. The high surface area coatings use three-dimensional space to provide more area for functional groups to bind polymers than an untreated solid substrate. The polymers may be oligonucleotides, polypeptides, or another type of polymer. The solid substrate is a rigid supportive layer made from a material such as glass, a silicon material, a metal material, and plastic. The coating may be thin films, hydrogels, microparticles. The coating may be made from a metal oxide, a high- dielectric, a low- dielectric, an etched metal, a carbon material, or an organic polymer. The functional groups may be hydroxyl groups, amine groups, thiolate groups, alkenes, n-alkenes, alkalines, N-Hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)-activated esters, polyaniline, aminosilane groups, silanized oxides, oligothiophenes, and diazonium compounds. Techniques for applying coatings to solid substrates and attaching functional groups are also disclosed.

Disclosed herein is a substrate which includes a functional group protected with a photolabile group covalently attached to the substrate and a film of solvent thereof covering the substrate, where the thickness of the film is less than about 100 m. Also disclosed herein are methods of preparing such substrates. Further disclosed are methods of synthesizing polymers, methods of synthesizing arrays of polymers and methods of removing photolabile protecting groups. These methods all employ covering the substrate with a thin film of solvent where the thickness of the film is less than 100 m.

Nucleic acid memory strands encoding digital data using a sequence of homopolymer tracts of repeated nucleotides provides a cheaper and faster alternative to conventional digital DNA storage techniques. The use of homopolymer tracts allows for lower fidelity, high throughput sequencing techniques such as nanopore sequencing to read data encoded in the memory strands. Specialized synthesis techniques allow for synthesis of long memory strands capable of encoding large volumes of data despite the reduced data density afforded by homopolymer tracts as compared to conventional single nucleotide sequences.

A method for producing a nucleic acid array which includes: a step of forming a resist film using a positive resist composition containing a photo acid generator for generating an acid as a result of being exposed to light on a solid phase which has a molecule immobilized thereon and having functional groups protected by an acid-decomposable protective group; a step of exposing a desired position of the resist film to light; a step of developing the resist film which has been subjected to development using a developing liquid; and a step of bringing the solid phase including the resist film which has been subjected to development into contact with a nucleotide derivative having an acid-decomposable protective group is provided.

A method of detecting the expression level of miRNA markers in a biological sample obtained from a mammal is provided. The method incudes the steps of i) detecting the expression level of one or more miRNA markers selected from the group of miR-199a-3p, miR-143-3p, miR-340-5p, let-7b-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-20a-5p and miR-103a-3p, in the biological sample; ii) detecting the expression level of at least one miRNA reference marker selected from miR-148b-3p and miR-30e-5p in the biological sample; and iii) normalizing the expression level of the miRNA marker(s) against the expression level of the miRNA reference marker in the sample and in a control. The method is useful for the diagnosis of endometriosis, monitoring of patient response to treatment, and assessment of disease progression and/or severity.

A microarray is designed to capture one or more molecules of interest at each of a plurality of sites on a substrate. The sites comprise base pads, such as polymer base pads, that promote the attachment of the molecules at the sites. The microarray may be made by one or more patterning techniques to create a layout of base pads in a desired pattern. Further, the microarrays may include features to encourage clonality at the sites.

The invention relates to methods of detecting a genetic variation in a genetic sample from a subject using labeled probes and counting the number of labels in the probes. The invention also relates to manufacturing and using arrays and analytical approaches based on single molecule detection techniques.

Disclosed herein are formulations, substrates, and arrays for the synthesis of PNA chains and PNA-DNA chimera on microarrays. In some embodiments, the formulations include a photo-protective compound that shields any PNA monomers, PNA polymers, or PNA-DNA chimera already attached to a microarray from radiation exposure during the synthesis of the PNA or PNA-DNA chains. In some embodiments, substrates and arrays comprise a porous or a planar layer for synthesis and attachment of PNA or DNA monomers, or PNA or PNA-DNA polymers. In some embodiments, disclosed herein are formulations and methods for high efficiency coupling of PNA monomers or PNA polymers to a microarray substrate.

Complete nucleic acid library preparation devices are provided. Aspects of the devices include: a thermal chip module comprising multiple nodes; one or more plate locations; a robotically controlled liquid handler configured to transfer liquid between the one or more plate locations and the thermal chip module; and a bulk reagent dispenser configured to access each node of the thermal chip module.

The present disclosure provides methods, device, and system for wafer processing. The wafer processing apparatus uses a nozzle in a lid to disperse a solution to the surface of a wafer. Further, the wafer is positioned on top of a vacuum chuck and does not spin while the solution is dispensed over the surface of the wafer via surface tension, thereby permitting the first solution to react with a reagent on the surface. Further, when dispensing the first solution, a separation gap between the lid and the wafer is at a predetermined distance, for example, from about 20 ?m to about 2 mm.