Vol. 12, Issue 12, 1950-1960, December 2002

METHODS
A Scalable High-Throughput Chemical Synthesizer

¹ Center for Biomedical Inventions (CBI), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9187, USA

A machine that employs a novel reagent delivery technique for biomolecular synthesis has been developed. This machine separates the addressing of individual synthesis sites from the actual process of reagent delivery by using masks placed over the sites. Because of this separation, this machine is both cost-effective and scalable, and thus the time required to synthesize 384 or 1536 unique biomolecules is very nearly the same. Importantly, the mask design allows scaling of the number of synthesis sites without the addition of new valving. Physical and biological comparisons between DNA made on a commercially available synthesizer and this unit show that it produces DNA of similar quality.