Patent ID: 7282183

Claim:
An apparatus for manufacturing an array of biopolymers on a support, said apparatus comprising: (a) a manifold comprising at least two compartments, each of said compartments being in fluid communication with a respective gas inlet, (b) a perforated element in fluid communication with said manifold, said perforated element being substantially perpendicular to said gas inlets, (c) a chamber in fluid communication with said perforated element, said chamber comprising an opening in a wall thereof and a gas outlet in a wall thereof that is perpendicular to said gas inlets, (d) a device for dispensing reagents for synthesizing said array of biopolymers on a support, at least a portion of said device being within said chamber, wherein said device for dispensing reagents is a drop dispensing device for dispensing individual drops of said reagents to predetermined features on said support, and (e) a mechanism for moving said support into and out of said chamber through said opening and for positioning said support relative to said device for dispensing reagents.