FIGURE 1. Analytical versus functional protein microarrays.

a, Analytical protein microarray. Different types of ligands, including antibodies, antigens, DNA or RNA aptamers, carbohydrates or small molecules, with high affinity and specificity, are spotted down onto a derivatized surface. These chips can be used for monitoring protein expression level, protein profiling and clinical diagnostics. Similar to the procedure in DNA microarray experiments, protein samples from two biological states to be compared are separately labelled with red or green fluorescent dyes, mixed, and incubated with the chips. Spots in red or green colour identify an excess of proteins from one state over the other. b, Functional protein microarray. Native proteins or peptides are individually purified or synthesized using high-throughput approaches and arrayed onto a suitable surface to form the functional protein microarrays. These chips are used to analyse protein activities, binding properties and post-translational modifications. With the proper detection method, functional protein microarrays can be used to identify the substrates of enzymes of interest. Consequently, this class of chips is particularly useful in drug and drug-target identification and in building biological networks.