The Micro-western array opens
up a new horizon of mass-analysis for proteins.
A major development in the world of immunohistochemistry, the "micro-western array" allows dozens or even hundreds of proteins to be measured and compared simultaneously. It was described in the journal Nature Methods this week.
Richard B. Jones, senior author and assistant professor at the University of Chicago, compared the new technology to "turning on the lights" in a darkened room instead of bumping into things one step at a time.
In a standard Western Blot, a single antibody is used to measure the levels of a single antigen (such as a protein) in a gel substrate. The western array is an application of microarray technology to this process. A preprinted micro-western array contains multiple tiny western blots, which can be treated separately. The multiple-blot setup allows for a lab technician to measure dozens of proteins in the same sample simultaneously, or even to analyze many different samples at once.
Micro-western arrays have the additional benefit of requiring much less cell material and antibody to run a test, cutting the requirements for each down to a few nanoliters. That means smaller, less disruptive samples from patients, and less use of expensive antibodies for the lab.
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