Rapid process for arraying and synthesizing bead-based combinatorial libraries

摘要

A mixture of beads of uniform size from is deposited in an array by establishing discrete attachment areas each consisting either of a droplet of adhesive or a small area of a continuous adhesive layer exposed through an aperture in a mask. Beads which are trapped by the attachment areas are released either by a solvent on a vacuum manifold, or by evaporation of the adhesive, preferably by means of a vacuum centrifuge. The beads are released into capillaries, in which cleavage of attached compounds, or synthesis of new compounds, can be carried out. Also invented is the apparatus used in carrying out the invention.