A method including (a) providing an amplification reagent including an array of sites, and a solution having different target nucleic acids; and (b) reacting the amplification reagent to produce amplification sites each having a clonal population of amplicons from a target nucleic acid from the solution. The reacting can include simultaneously transporting the nucleic acids to the sites at an average transport rate, and amplifying the nucleic acids that transport to the sites at an average amplification rate, wherein the average amplification rate exceeds the average transport rate. The reacting can include producing a first amplicon from a nucleic acid that transports to each of the sites, and producing subsequent amplicons from the nucleic acid or from the first amplicon, wherein the average rate at which the subsequent amplicons are generated exceeds the average rate at which the first amplicon is generated.

An example of a flow cell includes a substrate, a plurality of chambers defined on or in the substrate, and a plurality of depressions defined in the substrate and within a perimeter of each of the plurality of chambers. The depressions are separated by interstitial regions. Primers are attached within each of the plurality of depressions, and a capture site is located within each of the plurality of chambers.

Embodiments of the present invention provide substrates having controllably co-located polymers of different sequences. Methods are provided that allow the fabrication of arrays of polymers on a substrate having controllably co-located polymers in regions of the array. For example, polymers of nucleic acids and peptides having different sequences and or compositions can be co-located within a region of a substrate. Also provided are arrays of DNA polymers wherein polymers having two different sequences are co-located within a region of an array. The co-located DNA polymers can comprise complementary DNA that is able to hybridize and form double stranded DNA. Arrays having regions comprising double stranded DNA are provided.

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.

An apparatus and method for performing analysis and identification of molecules have been presented. In one embodiment, a portable molecule analyzer includes a sample input/output connection to receive a sample, a nanopore-based sequencing chip to perform analysis on the sample substantially in real-time, and an output interface to output result of the analysis.

Various embodiments of the teachings relate to a system or method for sample preparation or analysis in biochemical or molecular biology procedures. The sample preparation can involve small volume processed in discrete portions or segments or slugs, herein referred to as discrete volumes. A molecular biology procedure can be nucleic acid analysis. Nucleic acid analysis can be an integrated DNA amplification/DNA sequencing procedure.

A method for making a biochip structure, includes: providing a substrate and forming a plurality of biochips on a surface of the substrate; forming a carrier on a side of the substrate having the biochips, defining a plurality of through holes in the substrate from a side of the substrate away from the carrier; and filling conductive material in each of the through holes to connect one of the biochips. The carrier defines a plurality of openings. Each opening cooperates with substrate to form a micro-channel, and one of the biochips is exposed in the micro-channel.

Fiducial markers are provided on a patterned array of the type that may be used for molecular analysis, such as sequencing. The fiducial markers may have configurations and layouts that enhance their detection in image or detection data, that facilitate or improve processing, that provide encoding of useful information, and so forth. Examples of the fiducial markers may include non-rectilinear layouts that may provide for more robust location of both the fiducial markers and sites of the patterned array.

A method including (a) providing an amplification reagent including an array of sites, and a solution having different target nucleic acids; and (b) reacting the amplification reagent to produce amplification sites each having a clonal population of amplicons from a target nucleic acid from the solution. The reacting can include simultaneously transporting the nucleic acids to the sites at an average transport rate, and amplifying the nucleic acids that transport to the sites at an average amplification rate, wherein the average amplification rate exceeds the average transport rate. The reacting can include producing a first amplicon from a nucleic acid that transports to each of the sites, and producing subsequent amplicons from the nucleic acid or from the first amplicon, wherein the average rate at which the subsequent amplicons are generated exceeds the average rate at which the first amplicon is generated.

Provided in some aspects are methods for light-controlled in situ surface patterning of a substrate. Compositions such as nucleic acid arrays produced by the methods are also disclosed. In some embodiments, a method disclosed herein comprises using photoresist for photocontrollable hybridization and/or ligation of nucleic acid molecules, wherein photoresist removal allows hybridization and/or ligation of nucleic acid molecules at the exposed area. A large diversity of barcodes can be created in molecules on the substrate via sequential rounds of light exposure, hybridization, and ligation.