Probe carrier and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

A flat plate-shaped probe carrier for carrying probes such as single stranded DNAs, proteins, etc. which are reactive specifically with target substances comprises a plurality of ring bodies arranged substantially in parallel and the external space among the ring bodies is filled with a filler such that the openings of the ring bodies are oriented to the surface of the probe carrier. Each ring body has a region for fixing a probe adapted to be bonded specifically to a target substance on its inner wall. The probe carrier is produced by bundling a plurality of hollow tubular members in parallel, then filling the external space among the bundled hollow members with a filler, and cutting the bundle along a plane intersecting the axial direction of the tubular members. Probes are fixed to the fixing region before or after filling the external space.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A flat plate-shaped probe carrier comprising a plurality of ring bodies having in the inside a region for fixing a probe adapted to be bonded specifically to a target substance and a filler filled among said ring bodies without any substantial space left therein.  
     
     
         2 . A probe carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 said target substance is a nucleic acid and said probe has a sequence complementary relative to part or all of the base sequence of said nucleic acid and is a single stranded nucleic acid adapted to be specifically hybridized with said nucleic acid.    
     
     
         3 . A probe carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 said ring bodies have respective probes of different types in the inside.    
     
     
         4 . A method of manufacturing a probe carrier comprising a plurality of ring bodies having in the inside a region for fixing a probe adapted to be bonded specifically to a target substance, said method comprising; 
 a step of bundling a plurality of hollow tubular members to make them arranged substantially in parallel with each other;    a step of filling the external space among the bundled hollow tubular members with a filler and solidifying the filler;    a step of cutting the bundle of the tubular members filled with the filler along a plane intersecting the axial direction of the tubular members to produce a flat plate-shaped carrier comprising a plurality of ring bodies having respective internal openings; and    a step of fixing probes to the respective regions for fixing a probe before or after filling the space with the filler.    
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 4 , wherein 
 said target substance is a nucleic acid and said probe has a sequence complementary relative to part or all of the base sequence of the nucleic acid and is a single stranded nucleic acid adapted to be specifically hybridized with the nucleic acid.    
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 4 , wherein 
 said filler is in a gel state before said step of filling the external space and the external space of the tubular members is filled with the filler by applying centrifugal force to the filler, wherein the filler flows in a sol state which centrifugal force is being applied.