Novel compositions comprised of at least one bead conjugated to a solid support and further conjugated to at least one nucleic acid and preferred methods for making the novel compositions are described. As compared to "flat" surfaces, beads linked to a solid support provide an increased surface area for immobilization of nucleic acids. Furthermore, by selecting a bead with the desired functionality, a practitioner can select a functionalization chemistry for immobilizing nucleic acids, which is different from the chemistry of the solid support.