Over the last decade or so, the field of
drug discovery, diagnosis, high-throughput screening, and biochemical analyses
have been revolutionized with the discovery of modern and sophisticated
instruments and new technologies. Protein microchips is one of them.
Preparation
Protein chips are made up of proteins
immobilized in a very small area with the help of gels. They are highly proficient
and more economical than conventional testing methods. Several types of gels
are utilized for the preparation of these microchips such as polyacrylamide gels,
hydrogels, and oligonucleotide gels etc. Proteins have the tendency to denature
and lose their 3D framework in uncontrolled environmental conditions, therefore
these protein chips need to be provided an optimum temperature and kept moist
to keep them alive and active.
Drugs have an ability to bind to the
target proteins, modifying their activities. Target proteins immobilized on
these microarrays when exposed to a series of bioactive molecules are stick to by
some of the molecules. The ones that stick are potentially active molecules
against the particular protein. They could be identified by using tags or other
biomarkers. The technique allows us to assay a large number of proteins
simultaneously and accurately. The microchips are highly amenable for high
throughput screenings.
Diagnosis
Early diagnosis and detection of cancer, heart
attack, and other health disorders could be possible by measuring the abnormal
concentration of concerned proteins in blood.
Enzymatic
reactions-Biocatalysis
Enzymes immobilized on the gel are still
active and able to react with specific substrates. The gel support helps in
better interaction of the target molecule with the enzyme, thus facilitating
the enzyme in the reaction.
Photo credit: news.stanford.edu
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