Patent ID: 8492098

Claim:
A method of detecting a reaction component that affects a reaction by inducing, activating, altering, or inhibiting the reaction, the method comprising: a) providing a reaction component, a sample and a solid support, said sample comprising a target analyte in a first concentration, said solid support comprising at least 1000 assay sites, each assay site having a defined volume between 10 attoliters and 50 picoliters; b) contacting said solid support with said sample such that the ratio of a total number of target analyte molecules contained within said assay sites to the total number of assay sites contacted with said sample is less than 1:5; c) introducing said reaction component to each assay site of said solid support; and d) determining a parameter indicative of whether the reaction component has affected a reaction by inducing, activating, altering, or inhibiting the reaction.