ABSTRACT
DNA microarrays are miniaturized platforms used in DNA and RNA hybridization analysis. They are typically made of plastic, glass, or silicon chips using processes such as photolithography, ink-jet printing, mechanical spotting, and so forth, and contain an array of single-stranded DNA segments known as probes attached to their surface to which a complementary DNA (cDNA) or complementary RNA (cRNA) of interest speci‰cally binds [1-7]. Fluorescence tagging of the probes or mass spectroscopy is used to detect this binding or hybridization. DNA microarray technology has been used in gene expression pro‰ling, genotyping (sequences complementary to expected products), in pathogen detection, in pathogen characterizations, in resequencing for point mutations, and in studying protein-DNA interactions [2]. In general, DNA microarrays work by exploiting the ability of a given messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence to bind speci‰cally to its cDNA template from which it originated. By using an array containing a large number of cDNA samples, it is possible to determine the expression levels of the numerous genes within a cell by measuring the amount of mRNA bound to each site on the array. With the aid of software, the amount of mRNA bound to the spots on the microarray could be determined, generating a pro‰le of gene expression in the cell.
