DNA microarray: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:38, 1 July 2003

Revision as of 08:05, 1 July 2003

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A '''DNA microarray''' (also '''DNA chip''' or ''gene chip'' in common speachspeech) is a piece of glass or plastic on which single-stranded pieces of [[DNA]] have been affixed in a microscopic array. Machines use such chips to simultaneously screen a single biological sample for the presence of many [[genetic sequence]]s. The affixed DNA pieces are known as '''probes.'''

Because '''"GeneChip"''' is a trademarked name owned by [[Affymetrix]], scientists tend to speak and write about "gene chips" only in reference to the chips that Affymetrix makes. Brought to market in [[1996]], in fact these were the first microarrays to come into use. They are referred to generically as '''oligonucleotide arrays,''' because the probes they use are short pieces of DNA about 10 to 50 [[nucleotide]]s long.