ABSTRACT
The array is very simply a collection of small spots on a surface organized in a particular geometric pattern. All microarrays share this feature. What is placed on the surface differentiates the microarray’s utility. We can create arrays of DNA, proteins, carbohydrates, small molecules, or even cells if we choose and then use these arrays to look at some aspect of biology on a global scale (e.g., examining the expression of the entire yeast genome at once). However, to do this in a quantitative manner we need to rely upon high-sensitivity labeling schemes and sophisticated detection systems in order to see the spots, and complicated algorithms to arrange the data in a meaningful way in order for us to make a conclusion about our experiment. All of this ultimately depends upon the equality of these little spots.
