Modular DC/AC Inverter for Distributed Power

65299 Protein microarrays can be used to simultaneously analyze a large subset of the predicted 100,000 human genes, enabling researchers to determine new drug targets, drug effects, toxicity, and leading to a new generation of drugs based on protein function. However, current genome microarrays are not ideally suited to larger protein sizes, resulting in poor analytic and diagnostic readouts. Thus, there is a need to develop better protein microarrays to perform massively parallel tests. This project will develop high density, low cost, high performance, re-usable protein microarrays. The microarrays will hold more than a million protein probes to allow rapid analysis of uncharacterized gene products. Furthermore, the complex microfludic chips will not need to be thrown away after use, resulting in much lower analysis cost. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating high-density protein microarrays. In addition, customization of generic microfluidic chips will be demonstrated, along with analysis of the microarrays for various applications. Commercial Application and Other Benefits as described by awardees: Lower cost protein microarrays should enable a larger number of researchers to use fluidic chips for functional genomics investigations (analysis of gene function in normal physiology and disease). Major customers should include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.