Patent ID: 7183050

Claim:
A hybridization platform comprising: a planar support; and an immobilized layer of single stranded nucleic acids or nucleic acid analogs formed on the surface of the planar support; wherein the immobilized layer is formed as either a) a continuous layer on the surface or b) as discrete regions on the surface; the nucleic acids or nucleic acid analogs being arranged as the continuous layer, or as each region, such that the one or more parameters selected from the density, sequence, orientation or structure of the nucleic acid or nucleic acid analogs are spatially varied as a continuum in the continuous layer or in each region in one or both of a first and second dimension across the surface of the planar support so as to form at least one gradient of the one or more parameters within the continuous layer or each region; and the one or more selected parameters includes the density of the nucleic acid or nucleic acid analogs.