Methods for reducing evaporation in wet processing steps

• US 20060105356A1
• Filed: 11/18/2004
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Dutton, Duane M., Tolosko, Brent T.
• Application Number:
  US10/992,889
• Publication Number:
  US 20060105356A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/6
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/0046 Sequential or parallel reactions, e.g. for the synthesis of polypeptides or polynucleotides; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making molecular arrays synthesis methods per se C40B50/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00286 Reactor vessels with top and bottom openings
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00378 Piezoelectric or ink jet dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00497 Features relating to the solid phase supports
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00527 Sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00547 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00576 fluorophore
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00585 Parallel processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00596 Solid-phase processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00605 the compounds being directly bound or immobilised to solid supports
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0061 The surface being organic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00612 the surface being inorganic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00626 Covalent
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00637 by coating it with another layer
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00657 One-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00659 Two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00662 Two-dimensional arrays within two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00664 Three-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00675 In-situ synthesis on the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00689 using computers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00691 : using robots
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00722 : Nucleotides
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00725 : Peptides
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00729 : Peptide nucleic acids [PNA]
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/142 : Preventing evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0636 : Integrated biosensor, microarrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/10 : Means to control humidity and/or other gases
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0293 : for liquids
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/0486 : Operating the coating or treatment in a controlled atmosphere
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 : Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites

Abstract

Methods of contacting a surface of an object with a liquid are provided. Aspects of the invention include positioning an object in a reaction chamber and flowing a liquid across a surface of the object, where at least a portion of the flowing step occurs in the presence of a gas that limits evaporation of a solvent component of the liquid. Also provided are devices for practicing the subject methods.

Claims

1. A method of contacting a surface of an object with an agent, said method comprising:

(a) positioning said object in a reaction chamber; and

(b) flowing a liquid comprising said agent in a solvent across said surface of said object in said reaction chamber, wherein said liquid is flowed across said surface at least partially in the presence of a gas that limits evaporation of said solvent;

thereby contacting said surface of said object with said agent.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said gas comprises at least two components, wherein a first component is a gas inert to said agent.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said gas comprises a second component that is said solvent.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said gas comprises a sufficient amount of said solvent such that said solvent is in equilibrium between said gas and any liquid present on said surface of said object.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said solvent is a volatile solvent.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said volatile solvent has a vapor pressure of at least about 0.3 mm.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said solvent is an organic solvent.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein said gas is saturated with respect to said solvent.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said reaction chamber is a flow cell.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said flowing comprises introducing a volume of said liquid into and then removing said volume of liquid from said flow cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said gas is present at least during said removing portion of said flowing step.

12. A method of producing a chemical array, said method comprising:

(a) positioning a substrate having a surface displaying a first chemical moiety precursor in a reaction chamber; and

(b) flowing a liquid comprising a functional group generation reagent in a solvent across said surface in said reaction chamber to generate a functional group on said first chemical moiety, wherein said liquid is flowed across said surface at least partially in the presence of a gas that limits evaporation of said solvent;

to produce said chemical array.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said method further comprises reacting said first chemical moiety displaying a functional group produced by step (b) with a second chemical moiety precursor.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said reacting occurs by depositing said second chemical moiety precursor onto said surface.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein said chemical array is a polymeric array.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said polymeric array is a peptide array.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein said polymeric array is nucleic acid array.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein said first and second chemical moiety precursors are blocked monomers.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein said functional group generation reagent is a deblocking agent.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein said reaction chamber is a flow cell.

15. The method according to claim 15, wherein said depositing occurs outside of said reaction chamber.

22. A method of producing a nucleic acid array, said method comprising:

(a) positioning a substrate in a flow cell, wherein said substrate comprises a surface displaying a covalently bound blocked nucleotide;

(b) flowing a liquid comprising a deblocking reagent in a solvent across said surface in said flow cell to deblock said bound nucleotide, wherein said liquid is flowed across said surface by introducing a volume of said liquid into said flow cell and then removing said volume of liquid from said flow cell, wherein at least said removing step occurs in the presence of a gas that limits evaporation of said solvent;

(c) contacting said bound deblocked nucleotide with a blocked nucleoside to covalently bond said second blocked nucleoside to said bound deblocked nucleotide; and

(d) reiterating steps (a) and (b) at least once to produce said nucleic acid array.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said method comprises sequentially flowing a plurality of different liquids across said surface in said flow cell.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said plurality of different fluids includes at least an oxidizing liquid and a deblocking liquid.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said plurality of different fluids further includes a wash fluid.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein said blocked nucleoside is contacted with said surface by pulse-jet deposition.

27. An apparatus for producing a chemical array, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a chemical moiety precursor deposition element for depositing a chemical moiety precursor onto a surface of a substrate;

(b) a reaction chamber for flowing a liquid across a surface of a substrate in communication with a reservoir of said liquid, wherein said liquid comprises a functional group generation agent in a solvent; and

(c) a reservoir of a gas in fluid communication with said reaction chamber, wherein said reservoir comprises a gas that limits evaporation of said solvent.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said gas comprises at least two components, wherein a first component is a gas inert to said agent.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said gas comprises a second component that is said solvent.

30. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said solvent is a volatile solvent.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said volatile solvent has a vapor pressure of at least about 0.3 mm.

32. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said solvent is an organic solvent.

33. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein said gas is saturated with respect to said solvent.

34. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said reaction chamber is a flow cell.

35. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said apparatus further comprises a fluid deposition station.

36. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said fluid deposition station is separate from said reaction chamber.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said fluid deposition station comprises a pulse-jet deposition device.

38. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said fluid deposition station comprises a reservoir filled with a blocked monomer.

39. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein said blocked monomer is a blocked nucleoside.