Patent ID: 8021841

Claim:
A method for increasing the spatial separation in a first direction between members of a plurality of elements attached to a first substrate, said elements having an initial ordering along said first direction and said initial ordering maintained comprising, (a) providing said first substrate, said first substrate including at least one first surfaces, said first surfaces including a plurality of non-intersecting first regions, said first regions having a first ordering along said first direction, and said first substrate including a first means for increasing shortest distances between all pairs of said first regions and maintaining said first ordering along said first direction when acted upon by a first urging, (b) providing said elements, said elements attached to said first regions with at most one of said elements attached to each member of said first regions, said elements having initial spatial separations along said first direction between adjacent members of said elements of less than approximately 50 microns, said elements containing materials selected from the group consisting of nucleic acid, protein, DNA, double stranded DNA (dsDNA), single stranded DNA (ssDNA), RNA, double stranded RNA (dsRNA), single stranded RNA (ssRNA), DNA/RNA heteroduplexes, mRNA, cDNA, snRNA, siRNA, miRNA, nucleic acid oligomers, labeled-probe-assemblies, nucleic acids with at least one dye-labeled nucleotide, nucleic acid oligomers with at least one dye-labeled nucleotide, nucleic acids with at least one modified nucleotide, nucleic acid oligomers with at least one modified nucleotide, fragments of at least one nucleic acid molecule, islands of amplified nucleic acids, fragments of proteins, denatured proteins, fragments of denatured proteins, protein complexes, and fragments of protein complexes and (c) applying said first urging to said first means, whereby said elements have increased spatial separations and said initial ordering along said first direction.