DNA Microarrays: A Practical Approach

DNA Microarrays: A Practical Approach is the first comprehensive overview of an exciting and powerful new technology. DNA microarrays, or biochips, are small glass chips embedded with ordered rows of DNA, providing a massive parallel platform for data gathering and representing a fundamental technical advance in biomedical research. Such biochips gather data at an unprecedented rate by enabling the use of advanced fabrication, detection, and data mining technologies. Written and edited by experts in the field, this book provides fascinating insight into this remarkable advancement. It opens with an introduction to the technology of DNA microarrays, emphasizing the methodological fundamentals of biochips, and continues with descriptions of the use of confocal scanning in microarray detection and techniques for the efficient cloning and screening of differentially expressed genes. The chapters address many topics, among them assay optimization, antisense scanning arrays, the manufacture of molecular arrays, and gene expression analysis. Also addressed are the uses of expression data in bioinformatics, of active microelectronic arrays for DNA hybridization analysis, and of microarray technology in pharmacogenomics. DNA Microarrays: A Practical Approach is ideal for researchers investigating patterns of gene expression (and the relationship with disease), and it is essential for any researcher interested in the use of biochips.