Patent ID: 8000001

Claim:
A method of forming a polymeric microarray support for an optical assay arrangement, said optical assay arrangement comprising an optical detection instrument having a depth of focus for detecting light emitted from said support, wherein said polymeric microarray support comprises a polymeric support surface, wherein the thickness of said polymeric support surface varies over the area of said support surface by a thickness variation value, the forming method comprising the steps of: determining the depth of focus of said optical detection instrument; determining the thickness of said support and said thickness variation value; forming said support with microfeatures comprising grooves arranged to have a depth; selecting a depth for said grooves in said support surface based on the determined depth of focus of said optical detection instrument and thickness of said support wherein the sum of the depth for said grooves and said thickness variation value of said polymeric support surface substantially corresponds to said depth of focus of said optical detection instrument in order to reduce noise; and attaching probe molecules to said polymeric support surface to form binding sites formed by probe molecules attached to said polymeric surface wherein for said selecting step, the thickness of the support is measured prior to the selection of the depth of said grooves.