Patent ID: 7667194

Claim:
A method of producing a microarray including sample spots on a carrier in a predetermined pattern by providing a plurality of discharge units each including a substrate having an inlet, a channel, a reservoir, and an outlet of a liquid sample, and a piezoelectric/electrostrictive element disposed at a position corresponding to the reservoir on the substrate; and by ejecting a liquid sample discharged from the outlet to outside onto the carrier to form the sample spots corresponding to each discharge unit on the carrier, the method comprising the steps of: (A) ejecting the liquid sample discharged from the outlet to outside onto an inspection carrier to form inspection spots, inspecting the resultant inspection spots for their quality to determine whether the inspected spots are defective or successful, and detecting a defective discharge unit; (B) making the detected defective discharge unit stop discharging the liquid sample from the outlet to outside, to prevent the formation of a defective sample spot from the defective discharge unit; (C) forming successful sample spots on the carrier using successful discharge units to provide a successful microarray on which the successful spots are aligned in a predetermined pattern on the carrier; and (D) forming a successful spot to be formed originally on the successful microarray at the position of the defective spot where no spot is formed in step (B), thereby providing a finished microarray including the successful spots aligned on the carrier in a predetermined pattern, wherein the distance between the inspection carrier and the outlet when the inspection spots are formed in step (A) is set to be greater than the distance between the carrier and the outlet when the successful spots are formed in step (C).