The inventive subject matter provides an apparatus for reproducibly fabricating hydrogel-based organ and tumor models inside multi-well plates. For example, tumor models made using the inventive apparatus can be used for studying the progression of cancer, cancer diagnostics, and therapeutic screening. A mold controls the thickness of each hydrogel layer. A photomask controls the size and shape of each hydrogel layer, allowing the hydrogel diameter to be smaller than the diameter of each well so that liquid media can be exchanged around both the sides and top of the hydrogels. A holder aligns the photomask with the multi-well plate, and polymerization is initiated by a light source.

A parallelized chain-synthesizing technique includes capillary tubes, where each tube provides multiple locations or addresses where a specific arbitrary sequence for polymeric chains can be synthesized. An optical addressing system selectively delivers light to the locations to mediate or control reactions in the tubes.

The inventive subject matter provides methods for reproducibly fabricating hydrogel-based organ and tumor models inside multi-well plates. A hydrogel precursor, which can include cells, is instilled into a well. A pillar is inserted into the well to contact the hydrogel precursor with a surface that can be shaped or textured to provide a desired surface configuration or contour, for example that of a desired organoid or tumor feature. The hydrogel precursor is polymerized and the pillar removed. A second hydrogel precursor, which can contain a different cell type, is then instilled into the well and a second pillar, which can have a different configuration or texture, inserted. Subsequent polymerization generates a second hydrogel portion within the well. Polymerization can be carried out by photopolymerization. Different wells can be aligned with different, individually controlled light sources or a single, collimated light source.

The inventive subject matter provides methods for reproducibly fabricating hydrogel-based organ and tumor models inside multi-well plates. A hydrogel precursor, which can include cells, is instilled into a well. A pillar is inserted into the well to contact the hydrogel precursor with a surface that can be shaped or textured to provide a desired surface configuration or contour, for example that of a desired organoid or tumor feature. The hydrogel precursor is polymerized and the pillar removed. A second hydrogel precursor, which can contain a different cell type, is then instilled into the well and a second pillar, which can have a different configuration or texture, inserted. Subsequent polymerization generates a second hydrogel portion within the well. Polymerization can be carried out by photopolymerization. Different wells can be aligned with different, individually controlled light sources or a single, collimated light source.

The inventive subject matter provides an apparatus for reproducibly fabricating hydrogel-based organ and tumor models inside multi-well plates. For example, tumor models made using the inventive apparatus can be used for studying the progression of cancer, cancer diagnostics, and therapeutic screening. A mold controls the thickness of each hydrogel layer. A photomask controls the size and shape of each hydrogel layer, allowing the hydrogel diameter to be smaller than the diameter of each well so that liquid media can be exchanged around both the sides and top of the hydrogels. A holder aligns the photomask with the multi-well plate, and polymerization is initiated by a light source.

The invention relates to a method for producing polymers, in particular synthetic nucleic acid double strands of optional sequence, comprising the steps: (a) provision of a support having a surface area which contains a plurality of individual reaction areas, (b) location-resolved synthesis of nucleic acid fragments having in each case different base sequences in several of the individual reaction areas, and (c) detachment of the nucleic acid fragments from individual reaction areas.

The invention relates to a method for producing polymers, in particular synthetic nucleic acid double strands of optional sequence, comprising the steps: (a) provision of a support having a surface area which contains a plurality of individual reaction areas, (b) location-resolved synthesis of nucleic acid fragments having in each case different base sequences in several of the individual reaction areas, and (c) detachment of the nucleic acid fragments from individual reaction areas.