Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (1+1)

4.2.4. Types of microarray

Many types of array exist and the broadest distinction is whether they are spatially arranged on a surface or on coded beads:

The traditional solid-phase array is a collection of orderly microscopic "spots", called features, each with a specific probe attached to a solid surface, such as glass , plastic or silicon biochip (commonly known as a genome chip, DNA chip or gene array). Thousands of them can be placed in known locations on a single DNA microarray.

The alternative bead array is a collection of microscopic polystyrene beads, each with a specific probe and a ratio of two or more dyes, which do not interfere with the fluorescent dyes used on the target sequence.