Bringing whole–genome microarray analysis to the benchtop has provided scientists with a powerful tool to better understand the dynamic relationship between a gene and its biological function. Over 2,000 scientific publications using GeneChip® expression arrays have increased our awareness of the genome's complexity and highlight the need for more powerful tools with greater data capacities.

The most recent commercial GeneChip Human Genome U133 2.0 Array accommodates ~1.4 million probes, measuring whole–genome expression (~50,000 transcripts) with 11–fold redundancy. The GeneChip Mapping 10K Array provides an equally accurate tool for genome–wide SNP analysis and has revolutionized linkage analysis and loss of heterozygosity studies. The next generation of this product will genotype over 100,000 SNPs, taking the first step in addressing the challenge of population–wide association studies. Additionally, future CustomSeq™ Resequencing Arrays will enable scientists to perform even larger–scale DNA resequencing and to more rapidly pinpoint the genetic sequence variations associated with disease.

To interrogate the genome at resolutions approaching every nucleotide, Affymetrix scientists have developed arrays that use genomic sequence to "tile" millions of probes from coding and non–coding regions alike. Tiling arrays analyse the complete transcriptome and examine genome structure–function relationships across and between whole chromosomes.

Furthermore, packaging of high–information content GeneChip microarrays into a new High Throughput Array (HTA) format greatly reduces the cost of experimentation and automates microarray research for industrial applications such as compound profiling, toxicology and biomarker discovery.

Developing cost efficient and scalable GeneChip technologies has allowed microarrays to move out of the research lab and into mainstream applications. Powered by Affymetrix technologies, products such as the Roche AmpliChip CYP450 and the bioMérieux FoodExpert–ID Array demonstrate the potential for microarrays to directly impact the quality of every day life, from improving personalized medicine to safeguarding food purity.

For more information about GeneChip technology and products — or to register for a copy of the complete Nature Reviews Microarrays collection, including the additional microarrays perspective, Recent Microarray Advances Help Unravel Biological Complexities — visit http://www.affymetrix.com/genechip/nature.