Abstract

The interactions of nucleic acids technology and the technology of arrayed nucleic acids are described, showing the interdependence of nucleic acids chemistry, surface chemistry, (micro-) technology and the requirements of biomedical applications. The methods and problems of the production of large numbers of oligonucleotides as well as the methods of arraying oligonucleotides are highlighted. The basic approaches, in-situ synthesis and postsynthetic immobilization, are described with a special emphasis on the postsynthetic immobilization of ready-made oligonucleotides on support materials. Techniques for the detection of nucleic acids interactions on arrays are outlined in brief.

Keywords: nucleic acids technology, oligonucleotide array, oligonucleotide chip, in-situ synthesis, immobilization, spotting, surface activation