Dimensionality is the issue: use of photoaptamers in protein microarrays

• Published in: Current Opinion in Biotechnology 2002-08, Vol.13 (4), p.309-314
• Main Authors: Petach, Helen, Gold, Larry
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: aptamer; Biochemistry; Biotechnology; capture agent; Chemical Biology; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional - methods; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods; Indicators and Reagents - chemistry; Ligands; microarray; Molecular Probes; photoaptamer; Photochemistry - methods; Protein Array Analysis - methods; Protein Array Analysis - trends; Proteins - analysis; Proteins - chemistry; proteomics; Proteomics - methods; SELEX; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 0958-1669; 1879-0429
• DOI: 10.1016/S0958-1669(02)00329-4

The development of high-density arrays for proteomics has become a goal of SomaLogic, many other companies, and a wide variety of academic entities. Unfortunately, the word proteomics has come to mean virtually everything. We define proteomics as being derived from arrays of analyte-specific reagents (ASRs) used to measure (something about) proteins. As the density of the ASRs on a chip increases toward the number of proteins in an organism, the concept of proteomics moves toward comprehensive proteomics. At issue then, is what constitutes an ASR, and what differences between them lead toward more or less biological information from a high-density panel of ASRs. In principle, photoaptamer microarrays used for proteomic analysis may measure fM concentrations of target analyte and reduce the complexity of proteomic assays by requiring only one capture agent while providing two dimensions of specificity.