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SCHOTT® Microarrays
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SCHOTT® Microarray printing technology technical details

Access our high precision and high-capacity non-contact Piezo dispense instruments to produce your diagnostic and life science microarray products. Our expertise ranges from design, development, and full manufacturing of arrays in life science research, pharma research, and all the way to clinical and diagnostic microarrays. We utilize a variety of instruments to cover the range of demands of spot size, drop volume, and array density, but our key focus is our set of proprietary custom dispense instruments designed exclusively for this purpose.

Microarray printing for manufacturability

On-the-fly printing

If you are looking to control your cost-of-goods (COGs) and increase efficiency with high-throughput manufacturing, on-the-fly printing is ideal. We configure your printing deck to ensure mechanical accuracy and dispensing quality in ranges 25µm – 150µm, on substrates and wafers. 
 
For large, high-density arrays with a requirement to print a large number of unique oligos or protein molecules, the time on deck can become extensive with stop-and-drop technology. 

On-the-fly dispensing enables: 

  • More efficient printing processes, driving improved product COGS and manufacturing throughput.
  • Reduced printing ‘time on deck’,  enabling increased quality due to reduced environmental exposure of both activated substrates and sensitive biomolecules.

Stop-and-drop printing

Stop-and-drop printing involves dispensing biomolecules with dispense tips in a static mode, followed by lateral movement to the next position. Typically stop-and-drop printing is ideal for larger spot sizes and volume dispense (up to 500 microns), as well as smaller array densities. In addition, stop-and-drop dispensing is optimal for custom sensor designs that require a high level of dispense accuracy on unique features of a biochip. Additional benefits include:

  • The ability to accurately spot on chips or sensors that have variable positional tolerances, through the use of sensor pre-imaging,  positional analysis, and program set-up for accurate dispense.
  • Stop-and-drop dispense of multiple drops to increase the total volume in any one position while retaining the accuracy of the circularity of the generated spots.

Microarray printing software

Our proprietary software enables a diverse range of printing configurations which, in combination with a range of glass capillary tips, allow us to spot unique and complex reagents and biomolecules of varying viscosities and spotting buffer formulations. This includes nucleic acids, purified or recombinant proteins, complex antigens, peptides, and cell lysates, as well as inorganic markers or control molecules such as nanoparticles or quantum dots.

In-house bioscience

Our in-house bioscience team supports microarray development and manufacturing, bringing together molecular entities and biochemical solutions to achieve optimal array functionalization and activity. This includes the precise handling and storage of biomolecules, optimization of spotting buffers for attachment and integrity, and the development of robust blocking, washing, and stabilization processes post-dispense.

Experience unmatched capacity and flexibility

Our proprietary non-contact Piezo printing technology

Feature Description
Drop volume 30pL – 300pL single drop volumes
Higher dispense volumes with stop-and-drop firing mode
Spot size range 25µm – 150µm
Higher spot sizes (up to 300µm) with stop-and-drop firing mode 
Print mode
  • On-the-fly or stop-and-drop with a single drop
  • Stop-and-drop with multi-drop firing
Print speed Deposit of 32 unique biomaterial samples on every pass at a rate of 238 spots per second
Print tips Up to 32 tips possible
Print type Non-contact printing
Biomaterials Dispensing a broad range of biomaterials (nucleic acids, proteins, complex antigens, peptides, etc.) in spotting buffers of varying composition and density
Substrates Production of arrays on a wide range of substrate materials, including glass, polymer /plastic, or silicon, in standard or custom shapes and sizes
Batch sizes Standard batch sizes are up to 136 standard microscope slides or 32 microtiter plate-sized glass
Webinar

Unleashing the full power of microarrays

Watch our recent GenomeWeb webinar to hear from the experts about the latest innovations in microarrays powering diagnostic discoveries around the world.

Microarrays by material

Glass
Polymer / plastic
Silicon
Other
Our glass microarrays are developed using unique glass substrates such as NEXTERION® specialty glass in slide, plate, or custom size dimensions, with functional surface coatings where a biomolecule/s will be chemically bound via precision dispensing (printing).

Explore product variants

Our polymer / plastic microarrays are developed using a variety of polymer-based substrates of unique and custom dimensions. We apply functional surface coatings compatible with polymer to allow for chemical binding of biomolecules to the polymer substrate. Custom fixturing for these unique dimensions can be produced for both on-the-fly and stop-and-drop dispensing.

Explore product variants
Custom silicon microarrays are developed using silicon packaged chips or wafers in a variety of custom dimensions and can be functionalized with many of the same surface coatings used with glass microarrays, allowing for broad utilization where biomolecule/s are chemically bound in biosensor creation.

Explore product variants
We dispense on a variety of materials including nitrocelulous and films. In practice, nitrocellulose maximizes biological capture, while film surfaces maximize control, uniformity, and scalability. Our printing capabilities can support both options to enable different application strengths.

FAQs

SCHOTT MINIFAB offers non-contact Piezo spotting of formulated probes using two main print modes: on-the-fly printing and stop-and-drop printing. On-the-fly printing is typically suited to high-throughput and high-volume production, where speed, efficiency, and array density are important. Stop-and-drop printing is typically used when larger spot sizes, higher deposited volumes, or precise placement on custom features are required. The best method depends on the substrate, biomolecule, array layout, target spot size, throughput, and detection requirements. 
Spot size depends on the substrate, surface chemistry, biomolecule, spotting buffer, print mode, and detection requirements. SCHOTT MINIFAB’s non-contact Piezo printing technology typically supports spot sizes from 25 µm to 150 µm, with larger spot sizes possible using stop-and-drop dispensing depending on the application. Our team can help optimize spot size, morphology, circularity, spacing, and signal performance based on the intended diagnostic or life science use case.
The number of printable spots depends on the microarray format, size, active detection area, targeted spot diameter, spot spacing, number of analytes, detection method, and dispense solution properties. Our team works with customers to define an array layout that balances multiplexing requirements with manufacturability, readability, and assay performance. For high-density arrays, it is important to evaluate the printing strategy, environmental conditions, dispense volume, spot quality, and quality-control requirements early in development. 
The optimal surface chemistry depends on the probe type, probe chemistry, substrate material, assay conditions, and detection method. SCHOTT MINIFAB offers several substrates with qualified surface chemistries and can also support custom substrate functionalization where appropriate. Epoxy-coated surfaces are commonly used because they can form stable bonds with amine-functionalized probes. NHS ester-activated surfaces also provide covalent attachment and reliable performance. Adsorption-based surfaces may be suitable for some applications, depending on the assay design, performance, and detection requirements.
Probe density can be affected by the surface chemistry, concentration of the dispensed molecule, spotting buffer, and dispense conditions. Probe orientation is influenced by the chemical properties of the substrate modification, as well as the presence of linkers, functional groups, and probe-specific binding behavior. Our cross-site team, with expertise in surface chemistry, can provide guidance on modulating probe density and orientation across different surface types. The optimal approach depends on the molecule, assay format, and required performance. 
Background noise and non-specific binding depend on the activated substrate, surface chemistry, assay stringency, blocking and washing conditions, biomolecule type, and detection method. Our team can provide guidance on the combination of substrate, surface coating, and post-print processing that may best support the intended microarray application. Because background signal is application-specific, coating selection is typically evaluated together with assay conditions, detection chemistry, and manufacturing requirements.
Variability can originate at different stages of the manufacturing workflow, including pre-processing, printing, post-processing, handling, storage, and assay-specific functional steps. These variations can affect spot uniformity, binding efficiency, signal intensity, and overall reproducibility. SCHOTT MINIFAB implements in-process controls at multiple stages of the manufacturing workflow to support quality and consistency. The specific controls depend on the product format, substrate, detection method, and customer requirements. 
Lot-to-lot reproducibility depends on controlled materials, defined process parameters, consistent dispensing performance, environmental control, documentation, and quality review. In the printing process, SCHOTT MINIFAB uses detailed record keeping and in-process controls to monitor critical parameters such as spot size, morphology, dispense volume, alignment, and environmental conditions. These controls support consistent printing performance and enable corrective actions before defects affect the final product. The specific reproducibility strategy is defined according to product and customer requirements. 
SCHOTT MINIFAB implements microarray post-dispense quality review and can offer additional post-processing and functional quality control depending on customer requirements. Quality-control planning may include review of spot presence, placement, morphology, consistency, alignment, dispense performance, and functional assay criteria where applicable. The appropriate quality checks depend on the product format, intended application, detection method, and release requirements. Our team works with customers to define quality controls that support both product performance and manufacturability.
Throughput can often be improved by aligning the product design, print method, substrate format, automation strategy, and quality-control plan early in development. Our team coordinates the transfer from product development through full-scale manufacturing using a phased approach that supports controlled scale-up. Depending on the product, this may include optimized dispensing parameters, appropriate print mode selection, process controls, and manufacturing workflows designed to reduce setup time and support reproducible production. The best approach depends on product format, throughput targets, and quality requirements.
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Dieter Cronauer

Dieter Cronauer