Automated Synthesis of Solid-Phase Bound Peptides

Abstract

The SPOT method was developed by Ronald Frank for simultaneous multiple peptide synthesis on separate sites on a homogeneous membrane carrier (Frank 1992). The principle of the technique is to dispense small droplets of pre-activated amino acid derivatives onto a predefined array of positions on a porous membrane. The droplets are absorbed and form individual reaction compartments for chemical reaction in solid-phase synthesis. A great number of distinct spots can be arranged on a large membrane sheet and each of these is individually addressable by manual or automated delivery of the respective reagent solution. The absorptive capacity of the membrane and the volume of the drops determine the number of spots per area and the spot size. According to the specific functionality of the matrix, the spot size correlates with the particular scale of the synthesis.