Patent ID: 8163535

Claim:
A device comprising: (i) a body member having a plurality of external surfaces and fabricated to contain a single continuous fluid pathway therethrough, the pathway consisting essentially of: a first channel; a second channel; a binding channel between the first channel and the second channel, wherein the binding channel is open to one of the external surfaces of the body member; a plurality of ports, wherein at least one of the ports is in fluid communication with the first channel distal to the binding channel, and wherein at least another of the ports is in fluid communication with the second channel distal to the binding channel; and (ii) a glass member affixed to said one of the external surfaces of the body member to provide a first unmodified flat glass surface in fluid communication with the binding channel, wherein the binding channel and glass member define a binding chamber effective for binding a heterogeneous population of nucleic acids, wherein the binding channel is a planar serpentine channel comprising a series of linear segments connected by curved segments having a narrower cross-section than the linear segments, and wherein the fluid pathway is essentially free of nucleic acid-specific binding sites.