The additional one hundred and seventy nine prokaryotic array designs will allow individual researchers to utilize this technology to conduct a broader range of microbial expression studies without wasting time designing and manufacturing arrays.
The NimbleExpress array programme already contains up to 282,000 unique oligos and has proved a useful microarray tool for a variety of applications including whole-genome expression profiling, multiple-genome expression profiling and genome tiling arrays. They are designed to be compatible on the GeneChip Instrument system.
Modern day microarrays have been used in microbial and drug research, from studying disease causing pathogens to studying life-threatening human diseases. The aiml is to observe RNA expression levels, but they are also used to study DNA sequences for changes that could signpost genes of interest, for example mutations that are linked to cancer.
These new prokaryotic designs are part of an expanded NimbleExpress array program that was recently launched to provide Affymetrix customers with a method of designing customized expression arrays (up to 12,000 transcripts) for smaller scale studies or pilot experiments.
The NimbleExpress arrays are manufactured by NimbleGen Systems Inc. for Affymetrix using a photolithographic Maskless Array Synthesis (MAS) technology that is similar oligo synthesis process that is similarto the photolithography process used to create the GeneChip brand microarrays.