Emerging Technologies in Lab-on-a-Chip: Microarrays and Biochips (Technical Insights)

The microarray industry has evolved very rapidly from providing highly specialized techniques for a few genetic researchers to becoming a laboratory standard in molecular biology and clinical research. Heartened by this phenomenal growth, several research groups have started producing nanoarrays, in which thousands of binding sites can be printed into the area of a single conventional microarray spot. Novel, high-throughput methods for expressing and purifying proteins can also help companies build vast libraries of recombinant proteins to place on chips.

This Technical Insights study, Emerging Technologies in Lab-on-a-Chip: Microarrays and Biochips, examines various technology developments in the microarray industry. These include applications, design, fabrication, new detection methods, microfluidic arrays, and further miniaturization down to the nanoarray level. It also summarizes the research conducted by top scientists and companies as well as start-ups. Furthermore, it discusses the drivers and challenges that stand in the way of commercial success of the technology.

Microarrays Useful in Discovery, Sequence Analysis and Monitoring of Protein Expression

Microarray technologies are likely to find significant scope in genomics and proteomics, with miniaturization enabling high-throughput processing. The applications they cover include genotyping, mutation screening, gene expression, and protein-interaction studies. "Ultimately, DNA microarray studies promise to expand the size of existing gene families, reveal new patterns of coordinated expression across gene families, and uncover entirely new categories of genes," says the analyst of this research. It will also aid clearer understanding of co-ordination among genes and their inter-relation.

The potential of microarrays extends beyond peptides and nucleotides. Another segment that could receive a boost from the developments in microarray technology is disease diagnosis. Promising results from the use of DNA microarrays to classify subtypes of cancer may help determine the most appropriate treatment strategy. Other microarray technologies in the pipeline include carbohydrate chips, and cell, tissue, and chemical arrays. Microarrays’ portability, rapid assay times, and smaller sample requirements could be major factors in encouraging their uptake in the healthcare sector despite their current high costs. Conversely, increased use should bring costs down.

Reliability and Standardization Issues Need to Be Resolved for Wider Acceptance of Microarrays

The precision of microarray assays has been a significant concern among end users, since current tests still produce a fairly high level of false positives and false negatives. This can be a debilitating problem in the diagnostics industry, which traditionally requires robust and cost-effective test platforms with a high degree of precision. Since this is a major market for microarray technologies, research centers are already working on remedial measures.

Standardization is also receiving a lot of attention from researchers - especially with the current need to compare data obtained from different platforms now available. The various participants need to agree on a unified technology platform to design, process, read, and analyze DNA arrays. "Until precision and standardization are improved, researchers will have to continue to discard the raw data (the data on the chips) in the event that some information needs to be rechecked," notes the analyst.