Technology and applications of protein microarrays

The rapid development of high-density protein arrays and its application are discussed. A large number of prurified proteins by immobilizing at high density on a solid surface called 'functional protein chips' can be constructed which were increasingly applied for drug and drug-target identification. The protein expression profiling is another major field of application of these antibody arrays with the goal of screening and identifying molecular markers for pathological consitions. The implementation of protein microarrays in laboratories as common research instruments will advance the knowledge and understanding of the molecular mechanisms of life.