Feature quality in array fabrication

• US 6,587,579 B1
• Filed: 01/26/2000
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies Europe BV (Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Bass, Jay K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Marianne P.
• Application Number:
  US09/491,527
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 702/19, 702/20, 435/6, 436/518, 356/364, 356/369, 382/141
• US Class Current: 382/141
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00378 Piezoelectric or ink jet dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00529 DNA chips
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00549 2-dimensional
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00605 the compounds being directly bound or immobilised to solid supports
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00608 DNA chips
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0061 The surface being organic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00612 the surface being inorganic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00617 by chemical means
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00637 by coating it with another layer
• 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 2219/00689 using computers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00693 Means for quality control
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00695 Synthesis control routines, e.g. using computer programs
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00702 Processes involving means for analysing and characterising the products
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00722 Nucleotides
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00725 Peptides
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6837 using probe arrays or probe chips C12Q1/6874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2565/507 characterised by the density of the capture oligonucleotide
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2565/513 characterised by the pattern of the arrayed oligonucleotides
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 40/06 : Libraries containing nucleotides or polynucleotides, or derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 40/10 : Libraries containing peptides or polypeptides, or derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 60/14 : for creating libraries
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 70/00 : Tags or labels specially adapted for combinatorial chemistry or libraries, e.g. fluorescent tags or bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54353 : with ligand attached to the carrier via a chemical coupling agent coatings G01N33/54393

Abstract

A method, and apparatus and computer program products for executing the method. The method includes obtaining a set of multiple images of a target feature location on an array of multiple features, each image of the set representing the target feature location following deposition of a corresponding sub-set of multiple droplets for that feature. An overlay composite may be generated from the image set. The overlay composite may be used as a quality control tool, or in interrogating the array or processing results of the interrogation.

Claims

1. An apparatus for fabricating an array of features, comprising:

a drop deposition system to deposit multiple reagent droplets for each of multiple target feature locations so as to form the array of features;

an image capture system which provides a set of multiple images of a target feature location, each image of the set representing the target feature location following deposition of a corresponding subset of multiple droplets for that feature; and

a processor which generates an overlay composite from the image set which comprises a region of overlap of the droplet sub-sets.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the drop deposition system comprises a pulse-jet.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the image capture system provides multiple image sets of respective multiple target feature locations, each image set representing a corresponding target feature location and in which each image represents the location following deposition of a corresponding sub-set of multiple droplets for that feature.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the image capture system provides each set from multiple captured images each of which simultaneously includes multiple target feature locations following a cycle of droplet depositions at those locations.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the drop deposition system alters the deposition of additional droplets for the feature, or of droplets for other features on the same or another array, based at least in part on the overlay composite.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 additionally comprising a storage medium and a communication module, wherein the processor stores the overlay composite on the storage medium and causes the communication module to communicate the stored overlay composite to a remote user of the array.