Polynucleotide synthesizer

Abstract

A polynucleotide synthesizer comprises a supply mechanism for supplying a) liquid reactants for synthesizing peptides or polynucleotides, b) liquid reagents that assist in the synthesis, and c) a wash liquid; a reactor column; a connecting device for fluidly connecting the supply mechanism with the column; apparatus for positively displacing with gas pressure, liquid reactants and reagents, and wash liquid from the supply mechanism into the connecting device; and a controller connected to the column for allowing liquid to flow under the force of the gas pressure and at a controlled rate, into a temporary storage chamber and for thereafter emptying the chamber. The synthesizer is improved in one aspect in that the controller is fluidly positioned only downstream of the reactor column, and the synthesizer further includes valving preventing flow from the controller back to the column, whereby the column is precluded from contamination by reactants or reagents in the controller, and the controller needs no cleaning to prevent it from contaminating the column. In another aspect the synthesizer further includes a parallel manifold having i) sufficient inlet means to receive either each of the liquid reactants or each of the liquid reagents, ii) a common inlet to receive the wash liquid, and iii) an outlet connected to the connecting device to supply reactant or reagent to the column or to the controller, each of the inlet means including a pair of tandem two-way valves, both of the valves of the pair having a common outlet that feeds into the manifold outlet.