Allergen microarrays

Allergy affects more than 25% of Western populations (1) and is estimated to be the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States and Western Europe. The complexity of the condition is such that hundreds of common allergens have been described, and in order to maximize diagnostic efficiency there is an urgent clinical requirement for assays to provide multiple-allergen determination in a timely and cost-effective manner. Miniaturized immunoassays that utilize protein microarray technology now offer the possibility of circumventing most of the current limitations in the serodiagnosis of allergic disease. The heterogeneous nature of allergens presents many challenges in all aspects of developing such arrays, from immobilization of the capture molecule to detection of the bound ligand. In addition, there is no simple method of protein amplification (such as PCR for nucleic acids), and stabilization is yet a further major consideration. Notwithstanding these challenges, protein microarrays have been developed for the serodiagnosis of allergies and other complex clinical conditions. These assays exhibit good analytical and clinical performance and deliver significant advantages in convenience and cost compared with traditional ELISA test formats. This chapter details the techniques employed in the construction and processing of an allergen array specific for the serodiagnosis of allergic disease. An overview of protein microarray technology is provided and the principles that underpin the suitability for use of this technology in the identification and measurement of particular proteins in patient sera (serum profiling) are discussed.