abstract |
The present invention provides a method and device (11) for the acoustic ejection of fluid droplets (49) from each of a plurality of fluid-containing reservoirs (13, 15). The droplets (49) are ejected toward sites on a substrate surface (51) for deposition thereon. The device is comprised of: a plurality of reservoirs (13, 15) each adapted to contain a fluid; an ejector (33) comprising a means for generating acoustic radiation and a means for focusing the generated acoustic radiation so as to eject fluid droplets (49) from the reservoir fluids; and a means (43) for positioning the ejector (33) in acoustically coupled relationship to each of the reservoirs (13, 15). The invention is useful in a number of contexts, particularly in the preparation of biomolecular arrays such as peptide arrays and oligonucleotide arrays. |