purposes. For clinical applications like the antisenseBased on the oligomer-chip technology, oligonucleo-strategy (reviewed in Ref. 2), gram or even kilogram tide arrays were synthesized directly on polypropyl-amounts of oligonucleotides are required, prompting ene sheets by a modified phosphoramidite chemistry efforts on an up-scaling of synthesis yields (e.g., 3). For using b-eliminating nucleobase-protecting groups in many applications in molecular biology, on the other combination with a succinate solid-phase linker. This hand, notably DNA characterization and screening by method decouples the oligonucleotide deprotection hybridization and enzymatic assays like the polymerfrom the support cleavage procedure, in contrast to ase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing, oligostandard phosphoramidite chemistry. In addition to mer quantities in the picomole range are usually an being reliable substrates for hybridization experi-adequate amount, but larger numbers of oligonucleoments, the arrays also serve as source for the isolation tides are needed. Again, this has led to procedures aimof individual oligonucleotides. Technically, this al-ing at the simultaneous production of different oligonulowed for a direct control of the quality of the arrayed cleotides in small quantities (e.g., 4, 5). quence of an unknown nucleic acid is reconstructed from its hybridization binding pattern on a matrix which contains a comprehensive set of short oligonucleotide sequences (e.g., all 65,536 octamers). Initiated by the combination of solid-phase technolDuring our work concerned with developments toogy and the phosphoramidite chemistry introduced by ward a practical application of the SBH technique, such Beaucage and Caruthers (1), there has been much prog-as the ordering and selection of DNA fragments suitress in the automation of DNA synthesis. Today, the able for SBH analysis (10, 11), for example, or the sepreparation of synthetic oligonucleotides needed in bio-quence-independent leveling of oligomer binding stalogical, biomedical, and physical applications is usually bilities (12), it was apparent to us that such oligomer executed with commercial, automated DNA synthe-chips by design would be an ideal tool not only for sizers. These machines produce oligonucleotides in the screening procedures but also for the synthesis of nanomole up to micromole range. However, over the past few years, there have been two diametrical tend-2 Abbreviations