Genetic analysis using microarrays

A vast amount of genome sequencing data has become available over the past few years and methods to facilitate high-throughput analysis of large sets of genes and samples have been developed to localize novel genes related to human cancer. As advanced robotic applications have made it possible to manufacture high-precision microarrays on glass or membranes, pioneering scientists have introduced several variants of the "array" technology: oligonucleotide arrays (1), DNA microarrays (CGH arrays) (2), tissue microarrays (3), and cDNA microarrays (4,5). The array technology is based on fluorescently (glass-based arrays, chips) or radioactively (filter-based array) labeled nucleic acids that are hybridized to the microarray and imaged with a laser scanner or a phosphor imager, respectively. The images are then processed using microarray analysis software. These techniques have recently been reviewed in detail in Nature Genetics (vol. 21, Suppl. 1, 1999).