Antibody microarray analysis of directly labelled complex proteomes

In recent years, the antibody microarray technology has made significant progress, going from proof-of-concept designs to established high-performing technology platforms capable of targeting non-fractionated complex proteomes. In these cross-disciplinary efforts, a particular focus has lately been placed on two key technological issues: the sample and data handling. To this end, robust protocols have been designed for direct labelling of whole proteomes compatible with a sensitive fluorescent-based sensing. Tagging of the proteins with biotin in a single-colour approach has, in many cases, proven to be the preferred approach. Furthermore, based on modified approaches, adopted from the DNA microarray field, the first bioinformatic standards for performing the antibody microarray data analysis have emerged, though general standard operating procedure(s) remains to be implemented.