Protein Arrays

The development of protein array technologies has been a major development arising from the genomics revolution. Using proteins immobilised on substrates such as glass slides or beads, molecular interactions can be analysed and quantitated in a wide range of assay systems. Protein Arrays have a number of advantages over standard immunochemical methods, including speed, sensitivity and adaptability to miniaturisation, multiplexing and automation.

Two general types of Protein Array are recognised

•  Antibody or capture arrays: for detection and quantitation of analytes in heterogeneous protein mixtures (such as plasma or tissue extracts)

•  Protein chips: large scale, functional arrays of purified proteins, used to analyse interactions with other proteins, antibodies, DNA or chemical entities.

Both types of array have application potential in clinical diagnostics (e.g. the detection of biomarkers in patient sera; monitoring of antibody responses in autoimmune disease), as well as in target and drug discovery.