Abstract: A method of uniformly draining liquid from a patterned surface using a flow cell is provided. The method may be employed in a variety of applications, including in chemical array fabrication. In an exemplary embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus for fabricating a chemical array that employs a flow cell. Methods of fabricating a chemical array that employ the subject apparatus and drainage methods are also provided. Also provided are the arrays produced using the subject methods, as well as methods for using those arrays.

Abstract: In one embodiment of the present invention, a set of partially degenerate oligonucleotides can be used as standards for monitoring array-feature consistency during manufacturing and for calibrating array experiments. In another embodiment, methods for generating deterministic, fully-characterized sets of partially degenerate sequence standards are provided, in which parameters such as the oligonucleotide-sequence length, the generic sequence string, and the complexity of a set of oligonucleotides can be controlled by a user. Various sets of oligonucleotides with partially degenerate sequences may be combined in order to provide more desirable standards for a variety of array-related uses.