Why not harness CD technology to automate laborious laboratory tests, asks
James Demers of New York (WO 98/12559). Screening millions of chemical compounds
for their ability to inhibit an enzyme, say, can involve over 50 000 plates
dotted with tiny reaction wells.
Demers says that over a million tiny wells could be squeezed onto a modified
CD. When this disc is “played”, instead of reading data, the laser is used to
break down selected walls and so mix the compounds they contain. He also claims
a method for assessing the result in each well in the array.
