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Nucleotide incorporation by DNA polymerase forms the basis of DNA sequencing-by-synthesis. In current platforms, either the single-stranded DNA or the enzyme is immobilized on a solid surface to locate the incorporation of individual nucleotides in space and/or time. Solid-phase reactions may, however, hinder the polymerase activity. We demonstrate a device and a protocol for the enzymatic labeling of genomic DNA arranged in a dense array of single molecules without attaching the enzyme or the DNA to a surface. DNA molecules accumulate in a dense array of pits embedded within a nanoslit due to entropic trapping. We then perform ϕ29 polymerase extension from single-strand nicks created on the trapped molecules to incorporate fluorescent nucleotides into the DNA. The array of entropic traps can be loaded with λ-DNA molecules to more than 90% of capacity at a flow rate of 10 pL min-1. The final concentration can reach up to 100 μg mL-1, and the DNA is eluted from the array by increasing the flow rate. The device may be an important preparative module for carrying out enzymatic processing on DNA extracted from single-cells in a microfluidic chip.

We demonstrate on-chip, differential DNA and RNA extraction from a single cell using a microfluidic chip and a two-stage lysis protocol. This method enables direct use of the whole extract, without additional washing steps, reducing sample loss. Using this method, the tumor driving pathway in individual cells from a colorectal cancer cell line was determined by applying a Bayesian computational pathway model to sequences obtained from the RNA fraction of a single cell and, the mutations driving the pathway were determined by analyzing sequences obtained from the DNA fraction of the same single cell. This combined functional and mutational pathway assessment of a single cell could be of significant value for dissecting cellular heterogeneity in tumors and analyzing single circulating tumor cells.

Sequencing the genomes of individual cells enables the direct determination of genetic heterogeneity amongst cells within a population. We have developed an injection-moulded valveless microfluidic device in which single cells from colorectal cancer derived cell lines (LS174T, LS180 and RKO) and fresh colorectal tumors have been individually trapped, their genomes extracted and prepared for sequencing using multiple displacement amplification (MDA). Ninety nine percent of the DNA sequences obtained mapped to a reference human genome, indicating that there was effectively no contamination of these samples from non-human sources. In addition, most of the reads are correctly paired, with a low percentage of singletons (0.17 +/- 0.06%) and we obtain genome coverages approaching 90%. To achieve this high quality, our device design and process shows that amplification can be conducted in microliter volumes as long as the lysis is in sub-nanoliter volumes. Our data thus demonstrates that high quality whole genome sequencing of single cells can be achieved using a relatively simple, inexpensive and scalable device. Detection of genetic heterogeneity at the single cell level, as we have demonstrated for freshly obtained single cancer cells, could soon become available as a clinical tool to precisely match treatment with the properties of a patient's own tumor.

International audience; The REvolutionary Approaches and Devices for Nucleic Acid analysis (READNA) project received 12 million s funding under the European Union Framework Programme 7 from 1st June 2008 to 30th November 2012. The 19 project partners from both academia and industry from in total 7 countries had a project budget of 16 Ms with which they have discovered, created and developed a huge body of insights into nucleic acid analysis. Results have been presented widely in publications and in innumerous public presentations. Results have been moved to spin-offs such as the Olink enrichment kits (now sold by Agilent as Haloplex) and are findingtheir way to the market, such as the Oxford Nanopore MinIon sequencer that was first released to early-access user sites in 2014.

Sequencing the genomes of individual cells enables the direct determination of genetic heterogeneity amongst cells within a population. We have developed an injection-moulded valveless microfluidic device in which single cells from colorectal cell (LS174T, LS180 and RKO) lines and fresh colorectal cancers are individually trapped, their genomes extracted and prepared for sequencing, using multiple displacement amplification (MDA). Ninety nine percent of the DNA sequences obtained mapped to a reference human genome, indicating that there was effectively no contamination of these samples from non-human sources. In addition, most of the reads are correctly paired, with a low percentage of singletons (0.17 ± 0.06 %) and we obtain genome coverages approaching 90%. To achieve this high quality, our device design and process shows that amplification can be conducted in microliter volumes as long as extraction is in sub-nanoliter volumes. Our data also demonstrates that high quality single cell sequencing can be achieved using a relatively simple, inexpensive and scalable device.

To elucidate cellular diversity and clonal evolution in tissues and tumors, one must resolve genomic heterogeneity in single cells. To this end, we have developed low-cost, mass-producible micro-/nanofluidic chips for DNA extraction from individual cells. These chips have modules that collect genomic DNA for sequencing or map genomic structure directly, on-chip, with denaturation-renaturation (D-R) optical mapping [Marie R, et al. (2013) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110:4893-4898]. Processing of single cells from the LS174T colorectal cancer cell line showed that D-R mapping of single molecules can reveal structural variation (SV) in the genome of single cells. In one experiment, we processed 17 fragments covering 19.8 Mb of the cell's genome. One megabase-large fragment aligned well to chromosome 19 with half its length, while the other half showed variable alignment. Paired-end single-cell sequencing supported this finding, revealing a region of complexity and a 50-kb deletion. Sequencing struggled, however, to detect a 20-kb gap that D-R mapping showed clearly in a megabase fragment that otherwise mapped well to the reference at the pericentromeric region of chromosome 4. Pericentromeric regions are complex and show substantial sequence homology between different chromosomes, making mapping of sequence reads ambiguous. Thus, D-R mapping directly, from a single molecule, revealed characteristics of the single-cell genome that were challenging for short-read sequencing.

We show how a bird’s-eye view of genomic structure can be obtained at ∼1-kb resolution from long (∼2 Mb) DNA molecules extracted from whole chromosomes in a nanofluidic laboratory-on-a-chip. We use an improved single-molecule denaturation mapping approach to detect repetitive elements and known as well as unique structural variation. Following its mapping, a molecule of interest was rescued from the chip; amplified and localized to a chromosome by FISH; and interrogated down to 1-bp resolution with a commercial sequencer, thereby reconciling haplotype-phased chromosome substructure with sequence.

We have studied the effects of structure on nucleic acid heteroduplex formation by analyzing hybridization of tRNAphe to a complete set of complementary oligonucleotides, ranging from single nucleotides to dodecanucleotides. The analysis points to features in tRNA that determine heteroduplex yield. All heteroduplexes that give high yield include both double-stranded stems as well as single-stranded regions. Bases in the single-stranded regions are stacked onto the stems, and heteroduplexes terminate at potential interfaces for coaxial stacking. Heteroduplex formation is disfavored by sharp turns or a lack of helical order in single-stranded regions, competition from bases displaced from a stem, and stable tertiary interactions. The study is relevant to duplex formation on oligonucleotide microarrays and to antisense technologies.

Effects of dangling ends on duplex yield have been assessed by hybridisation of oligonucleotides to an array of oligonucleotides synthesised on the surface of a solid support. The array consists of decanucleotides and shorter sequences. One of the decanucleotides in the array was fully complementary to the decanucleotide used as solution target. Others were complementary over seven to nine bases, with overhangs of one to three bases. Duplexes involving different decanucleotides had different overhangs at the 3' and 5' ends. Some duplexes involving shorter oligonucleotides had the same regions of complementarity as these decanucleotides, but with fewer overhanging bases. This analysis allows simultaneous assessment of the effects of differing bases at both 5' and 3' ends of the oligonucleotide in duplexes formed under identical reaction conditions. The results indicate that a 5' overhang is more stabilising than a 3' overhang, which is consistent with previous results obtained with DNA overhangs. However, it is not clear whether this is due to the orientation of the overhang or to the effect of specific bases.

Background Physical mapping of transgenic insertions by Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH) is a reliable and cost-effective technique. Chromosomal assignment is commonly achieved either by concurrent G-banding or by a multi-color FISH approach consisting of iteratively co-hybridizing the transgenic sequence of interest with one or more chromosome-specific probes at a time, until the location of the transgenic insertion is identified. Results Here we report a technical development for fast chromosomal assignment of transgenic insertions at the single cell level in mouse and rat models. This comprises a simplified 'single denaturation mixed hybridization' procedure that combines multi-color karyotyping by Multiplex FISH (M-FISH), for simultaneous and unambiguous identification of all chromosomes at once, and the use of a Quantum Dot (QD) conjugate for the transgene detection. Conclusions Although the exploitation of the unique optical properties of QD nanocrystals, such as photo-stability and brightness, to improve FISH performance generally has been previously investigated, to our knowledge this is the first report of a purpose-designed molecular cytogenetic protocol in which the combined use of QDs and standard organic fluorophores is specifically tailored to assist gene transfer technology.

Mitotic chromosome structure is pivotal to cell division but difficult to observe in fine detail using conventional methods. DNA catenation has been implicated in both sister chromatid cohesion and chromosome condensation, but has never been observed directly. We have used a lab-on-a-chip microfluidic device and fluorescence microscopy, coupled with a simple image analysis pipeline, to digest chromosomal proteins and examine the structure of the remaining DNA, which maintains the canonical 'X' shape. By directly staining DNA, we observe that DNA catenation between sister chromatids (separated by fluid flow) is composed of distinct fibres of DNA concentrated at the centromeres. Disrupting the catenation of the chromosomes with Topoisomerase IIα significantly alters overall chromosome shape, suggesting that DNA catenation must be simultaneously maintained for correct chromosome condensation, and destroyed to complete sister chromatid disjunction. In addition to demonstrating the value of microfluidics as a tool for examining chromosome structure, these results lend support to certain models of DNA catenation organization and regulation: in particular, we conclude from our observation of centromere-concentrated catenation that spindle forces could play a driving role in decatenation and that Topoisomerase IIα is differentially regulated at the centromeres, perhaps in conjunction with cohesin.

In this paper, the microfluidic size-separation technique pinched flow fractionation (PFF) is used to separate cancer cells from white blood cells (WBCs). The cells are separated at efficiencies above 90% for both cell types. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are found in the blood of cancer patients and can form new tumors. CTCs are rare cells in blood, but they are important for the understanding of metastasis. There is therefore a high interest in developing a method for the enrichment of CTCs from blood samples, which also enables further analysis of the separated cells. The separation is challenged by the size overlap between cancer cells and the 10(6) times more abundant WBCs. The size overlap prevents high efficiency separation, however we demonstrate that cell deformability can be exploited in PFF devices to gain higher efficiencies than expected from the size distribution of the cells.

DNA dendrimers with two, three, six, nine or 27 arms were reassociated as complementary pairs in solution or with an array of complementary oligonucleotides on a solid support. In all cases, duplex stabilities were greater than those of unbranched molecules of equal length. A theoretical treatment for the process of dissociation of dendrimers explains the major properties of the complexes. The favourable features of DNA dendrimers-their enhanced stability and the simple predictability of their association behaviour-makes them promising as building blocks for the 'bottom up' approach to nano-assembly. These features also suggest applications in oligonucleotide array/DNA chip technology when higher hybridisation temperatures are required, for example, to melt secon-dary structure in the target.

The structural features of nucleic acid probes tethered to a solid support and the molecular basis of their interaction with targets in solution have direct implications for the hybridization process. We discuss how arrays of oligonucleotides provide powerful tools to study the molecular basis of these interactions on a scale which is impossible using conventional analysis.

The ability to analyze RNA expression of a whole genome in a single microarray experiment has had widespread impact on basic research as well as drug discovery and development (Marton et al. 1998; Brown and Botstein 1999; Bentwich et al. 2005). It also holds promise as a tool to guide treatment in the clinic (Golub et al. 1999; Perou et al. 1999; Alizadeh et al. 2000; Mattie et al. 2006; Yanaihara et al. 2006). What else lies in the future for microarray technology? Until recently, researchers have rightly limited their horizons to what the technology can do rather than what it ought to do. However, there is agreement that it ought to be able to detect RNA from small amounts of sample material, even single cells, in a way that faithfully represents RNA abundances. In addition, there would be advantages to describing abundance levels in absolute terms— numbers or molar amounts—rather than relative values, so that comparisons between genes and across many experiments can be undertaken. Furthermore, the dynamic range of microarrays should match the range of expression levels found in cells (Holland 2002). Indeed, if the sensitivity, dynamic range, and quantitative nature of measurements could be improved, the current need for cross-validation with real-time PCR would become redundant. In order to address these issues, a change in the way we look at molecules on a microarray is needed. At present, an ensemble signal is acquired from the plurality of labeled molecules that interact with probes in a microarray spot. However, if this signal were to be resolved into its constituent parts, the individual molecules, the output would be more easily quantitated because it would be digital: An individual molecule (one bit of information) can be either present or absent, the binary 1, 0. Moreover, if single molecules can be detected, then it follows that the detection is highly sensitive and the amount of sample material required can be reduced accordingly. Although the detection of individually resolvable fluorescent molecules on surfaces has been described previously (Funatsu et al. 1995; Lizardi et al. 1998; Unger et al. 1999), analysis of microarrays at the single molecule level is more challenging, requiring the high-resolution scanning of centimeter-square areas with high speed. A recent study (Hesse et al. 2006) has shown the application of a fast CCD scanning method to a conventional long oligomer microarray spotted on a nonconventional slide, at a resolution that enables individual molecules to be resolved. Although individual Cy3 and Cy5 dye molecules—which are the labels most commonly used in microarray experiments—emit enough photons to be detected by a typical microarray scanner, scanners are not set up to resolve molecules individually. This is because of a trade-off between the time it takes to perform the scan and the resolution that is achieved. Conventional pixel-bypixel scanners would take impossibly long (weeks) to scan 1 cm of a microarray at the ∼200-nm resolution required for single molecule analysis. Remarkably, the system used by Hesse et al. (2006) was able to scan a 1-cm area in under 1 h. This was done by a form of CCD operation, time-delay integration (TDI) or “scanning” mode, that is normally used in astronomy for finding trajectories of objects such as asteroids (Netten et al. 1994; Hesse et al. 2004). This technology synchronizes CCD read-off with a continuous stage movement. The imaging is done in strips, which are subsequently stitched together to reconstitute the microarray image. Simpler detection regimes could be implemented if brighter labels were used such as plasmon resonant nanoparticles (Oldenburg et al. 2002; Blab et al. 2006; also see Fig. 1A). The benefits of analyzing single molecules is clearly evident from Hesse et al.’s work. Without needing to use PCR or linear amplification, the Hesse group achieved a 100-fold decrease in the amount of sample material needed. This should open up applications where sample quantities are limiting. Also, the ability to work with small amounts of material without the need for amplification circumvents the preferential amplification of highabundance messages such as globins in blood, which is one of the more accessible tissues for microarray analysis. Hesse et al. were able to validate their single molecule results by conventional microarray hybridization done with 100-fold more material. This is impressive, as different microarray platforms often do not show high concordance. Hesse et al. (2006) also demonstrate that the dynamic range of single molecule detection is superior to conventional methods. The range of mRNA abundance levels in biological systems can approach 6 orders of magnitude, which clearly cannot be addressed by the ∼10 dynamic range of current microarray experiments. In contrast, the Hesse investigators found the dynamic range of their single molecule detection system to be 4.7 orders of magnitude. In particular, the range at the lower end, at which regulatory molecules may be expressed, can be extended with greater confidence. It is possible that by using an appropriate single molecule microarray system, the full 6 orders of magnitude of biological expression levels can be addressed in a single readout. One drawback of Hesse et al.’s implementation of single molecule detection on microarrays is that there is an upper transcript concentration limit. One of the three transcripts they studied in detail could not be analyzed at the single molecule level because its high abundance produced a density of binding events on the surface that, due to the diffraction limit of light, could not be resolved. In Hesse’s system, the concentration of each transcript in the sample needs to be

When stretching and imaging DNA molecules in nanofluidic devices, it is important to know the relation between the physical length as measured in the lab and the distance along the contour of the DNA. Here a single DNA molecule longer than 1 Mbp is loaded into a nanofluidic device consisting of two crossing nanoslits (85nm x 50 microns) connected to microchannels. An applied pressure creates a stagnation point at the crossing of the nanoslits. The drag force from the fluid stretches the DNA. We determine the degree of stretching of the molecule (i) without the use of markers, (ii) without knowing the contour length of the DNA, and (iii) without having the full DNA molecule inside the field-of-view. The analysis is based on the transverse motion of the DNA due its Brownian motion, i.e. the DNA's response to the thermal fluctuations of the liquid surrounding it. The parameter values obtained by fitting agree well with values we obtain from simplified modeling of the DNA as a cylinder in a parallel flow.Secondly, DNA molecules stained with the intercalating dye YOYO-1 are de- and renatured locally following a modified version of the protocol used in Ref. 1. The result is a melting pattern which reflects the local AT/GC-content. Single molecules are loaded into the chip and imaged. Due to the almost complete stretching of the DNA, structural variations in the size range from kbp to Mbp can be detected and quantified from the melting pattern alone.[1] W. Reisner, N. B. Larsen, A. Silahtaroglu, A. Kristensen, N. Tommerup, J. O. Tegenfeldt, and H. Flyvbjerg, PNAS, 107, 30 (2010) 13294.

Stretching DNA in nanochannels is a useful tool for direct, visual studies of genomic DNA at the single molecule level. To facilitate the study of the interaction of linear DNA with proteins in nanochannels, we have implemented a highly effective passivation scheme based on lipid bilayers. We demonstrate virtually complete long-term passivation of nanochannel surfaces to a range of relevant reagents, including streptavidin-coated quantum dots, RecA proteins, and RecA-DNA complexes. We show that the performance of the lipid bilayer is significantly better than that of standard bovine serum albumin-based passivation. Finally, we show how the passivated devices allow us to monitor single DNA cleavage events during enzymatic degradation by DNase I. We expect that our approach will open up for detailed, systematic studies of a wide range of protein-DNA interactions with high spatial and temporal resolution.

Prior to replication, a chromosome comprises a single length of DNA. We report on new methods for handling tens of kilobase to megabase lengths of single DNA molecules. We further report on the direct visualization of sequence organisation and the action of processive enzymatic activity along the molecules. We show how individual molecules can be captured and processed on single molecule microarrays [1] using a ligation base sequencing biochemistry that we have developed [2]. Finally, we describe how our methods will complement next generation DNA sequencing.

The whole genome sequences of Jim Watson and Craig Venter are early examples of personalized genomics, which promises to change how we approach healthcare in the future. Before personal sequencing can have practical medical benefits, however, and before it should be advocated for implementation at the population-scale, there needs to be a better understanding of which genetic variants influence which traits and how their effects are modified by epigenetic factors. Nonetheless, for forging links between DNA sequence and phenotype, efforts to sequence the genomes of individuals need to continue; this includes sequencing sub-populations for association studies which analyse the difference in sequence between disease affected and unaffected individuals. Such studies can only be applied on a large enough scale to be effective if the massive strides in sequencing technology that have recently occurred also continue.

Using a novel nanofluidic device, we recently showed [1] how to obtain a bird's-eye view of genomic structure at ∼1kb resolution from a single DNA molecule and used it to discover novel structural variation in an individual's genome that is too large to be easily identified by current DNA sequencing methods - but too small to be identified by conventional microscopy of chromosomes [2].These results highlight the role ancillary technologies (micro-/nano-fluidics) play in the application of ultrasensitive optical detectionsingle-molecule spectroscopy. Generating high-resolution images of DNA features requires that the molecules are stretched; in fluidic systems for high-throughput analysis of ultra-long DNA molecules (>106 bp), stretching has been limited to ∼50% [3]. We achieve ∼98% DNA stretching by combining two mechanisms: confinement in a nanoslit and hydrodynamic drag.Crucially, this stretching totally suppressed longitudinal Brownian motion, enabling mapping of single molecules with maximal resolution: across overlapping fields-of-view, images can be perfectly merged without any rescaling, correction for drift, or morphing.[1] Marie, R. et al. PNAS, 110, 4893-4898 (2013).[2] Kidd, J. M., et al. Nature, 453, 56-64 (2008).[3] Reisner, W. et al. PNAS, 107, 13294-9 (2010).View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide

The large-scale typing of sequence variation in genes and genomic DNA presents new challenges for which it is not clear that current technologies are sufficiently sensitive, robust, or scalable. This review surveys the current platform technologies: separation-based approaches, which include mass spectrometry; homogeneous assays; and solid-phase/array-based assays. We assess techniques for discovering and typing variation on a large scale, especially that of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The in-depth focus is the DNA chip/array platform, and some of the published large-scale studies are closely examined. The problem of large-scale amplification is addressed, and emerging technologies for present and future needs are indicated.

The large amount of DNA sequence information produced in recent years has created a need for high-throughput methods in biology and genetics. These include sequencing, comparing gene sequences and genotyping. DNA arrays promise a highly parallel means for analysis of DNA that is fast and cost-effective, and offers scope for application to complex systems and processes. Recent years have seen continued transfer of technology from the microelectronics industry. Rapid application of the technology to genotyping, antisense oligonucleotides selection and gene expression analysis has illustrated the general power of this approach.

An array of 1,938 oligodeoxynucleotides (ONs) ranging in length from monomers to 17-mers was fabricated on the surface of a glass plate and used to measure the potential of oligonucleotide for heteroduplex formation with rabbit beta-globin mRNA. The oligonucleotides were complementary to the first 122 bases of mRNA comprising the 5' UTR and bases 1 to 69 of the first exon. Surprisingly few oligonucleotides gave significant heteroduplex yield. Antisense activity, measured in a RNase H assay and by in vitro translation, correlated well with yield of heteroduplex on the array. These results help to explain the variable success that is commonly experienced in the choice of antisense oligonucleotides. For the optimal ON, the concentration required to inhibit translation by 50% was found to be five times less than for any other ON. We find no obvious features in the mRNA sequence or the predicted secondary structure that can explain the variation in heteroduplex yield. However, the arrays provide a simple empirical method of selecting effective antisense oligonucleotides for any RNA target of known sequence.

Antisense reagents have the potential to modify gene expression by interacting with DNA or mRNA to down-regulate transcription or translation. There have been a number of successful demonstrations of antisense activity in vivo. However, a number of problems must be solved before the method's full potential can be realized. One problem is the need for the antisense agent to form a duplex with the target molecule. We have found that most regions of mRNAs are not open to duplex formation with oligonucleotides because the bases needed for Watson-Crick base pairing are involved in intramolecular pairing. Using arrays of oligonucleotides that are complementary to extensive regions of the mRNA target, we are able to find those antisense oligonucleotides which bind optimally. There is good correspondence between the ability of an oligonucleotide to bind to its target and its activity as an antisense agent in in vivo and in vitro tests. To understand more fully the rules governing the process of duplex formation between a native RNA and complementary oligonucleotides, we have studied the interactions between tRNAphe and a complete set of complementary dodecanucleotides. Only four of the set of 65 oligonucleotides interact strongly. The four corresponding regions in the tRNA share structural features. However, other regions with similar features do not form a duplex. It is clear that ab initio prediction of patterns of interaction require much greater knowledge of the process of duplex formation than is presently available.

Arrays of oligonucleotides corresponding to a full set of complements of a known sequence can be made in a single series of base couplings in which each base in the complement is added in turn. Coupling is carried out on the surface of a solid support such as a glass plate, using a device which applies reagents in a defined area. The device is displaced by a fixed movement after each coupling reaction so that consecutive couplings overlap only a portion of previous ones. The shape and size of the device and the amount by which it is displaced at each step determines the length of the oligonucleotides. Certain shapes create arrays of oligonucleotides from mononucleotides up to a given length in a single series of couplings. The array is used in a hybridisation reaction to a labelled target sequence, and shows the hybridisation behaviour of every oligonucleotide in the target sequence with its complement in the array. Applications include sequence comparison to test for mutation, analysis of secondary structure, and optimisation of PCR primer and antisense oligonucleotide design.

Next generation sequencing methods that can be applied to both the resequencing of whole genomes and to the selective resequencing of specific parts of genomes are needed. We describe (i) a massively scalable biochemistry, Cyclical Ligation and Cleavage (CycLiC) for contiguous base sequencing and (ii) apply it directly to a template captured on a microarray. CycLiC uses four color-coded DNA/RNA chimeric oligonucleotide libraries (OL) to extend a primer, a base at a time, along a template. The cycles comprise the steps: (i) ligation of OLs, (ii) identification of extended base by label detection, and (iii) cleavage to remove label/terminator and undetermined bases. For proof-of-principle, we show that the method conforms to design and that we can read contiguous bases of sequence correctly from a template captured by hybridization from solution to a microarray probe. The method is amenable to massive scale-up, miniaturization and automation. Implementation on a microarray format offers the potential for both selection and sequencing of a large number of genomic regions on a single platform. Because the method uses commonly available reagents it can be developed further by a community of users.

DNA microarrays, comprising spotted PCR products of 0.6 Kb or above, have become a major platform for functional genomics. It is considered that array performance could be improved by turning to oligonucleotides instead of cDNAs and by controlling the site of attachment. Furthermore, to bring the approach within the reach of methods for combinatorial synthesis, the length of the probe needs to be minimised.