Services - Custom Microarray
The GATC custom microarray facility offers a wide range of services to researchers in the public sector. Our goal is to offer all aspects of spotted microarray technology from array design and manufacturing to acquisition of high quality data within a minimal time frame. Our state of the art equipment and qualified staff will ensure that your arrays are designed to best suit your project. All aspects of protocols from printing to labeling and hybridization will be optimized to produce high quality results. The facility can support researchers who are making microarrays on 25x75mm glass substrates, using either PCR product from cDNA libraries or oligonucleotide as probes. Our service is designed to allow the researcher to enter the facility at various points along the microarray workflow. There are four entry points into the microarray core. The first entry is for those who would like assistance with all aspects of array design and construction. The second is for researchers who have determined the optimal design for their array and wish to use the facility for array construction and hybridization. Entry three is for those who posses an array, and would like to begin doing hybridization experiments. The final entry point is for those who would like to acquire data from an array that has already been hybridized.
See below to explore the various entry points:
Entry #1:
Consultation (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED) This entry point is targeted to those designing cDNA arrays for use with dual-color detection. The facility staff is available to consult on design aspects of the array such as control genes for normalization of finished data, reagent selection, cDNA library construction, and PCR amplification of cDNA clones. The user will be responsible for the PCR amplification of the cDNA inserts from plasmid or glycerol stocks. The GATC automated cleanup service is available for microarray users who need to purify their printing material.
Entry #2:
Array construction For those who possess PCR product or oligonucleotides that are ready to be printed onto a microarray slide. The GATC will fabricate the arrays. The printing material will be lyophilized, and then resuspended in the appropriate printing buffer. Our Bio-Rad Chipwriter Pro can fabricate up to 50 arrays at a time, using as many as 48 Telechem Stealth pins, achieving densities of 30,000 spots per slide. The Chipwriter allows for flexibility in chip layout, with highly reproducible spot morphologies. The online data management system will track your inventory of chips, and allow re-ordering when needed.
Entry #3:
Hybridization The third entry point is for those who have already fabricated their arrays, and would like the GATC to perform the hybridizations. Our expert staff will perform the labeling reactions by RT and indirect incorporation of Cy-3 and Cy-5 dyes. Hybridizations are performed using the Genomic Solutions Genetac Hyb Station. Automated hybridization and washing of slides allows for the most consistent results possible. See the FAQ section for detailed descriptions of our protocols.
Entry #4:
Data acquisition Data acquisition can be performed by the facility staff if the user has an array that has already been hybridized. We use an Applied Precision white-light scanner, the ArrayWorks-E. Feature intensity values are extracted from the resulting image using Applied Precision's SoftWorx Tracker. Array images and extracted spot intensity values are delivered to the user via our online system. Data analysis support is provided by the Biotechnology Computing Facility.
