Integrated DNA Biochips: Past, Present and Future

DNA biochip is becoming a widespread tool used in life science, drug screening and diagnostic applications due to its many benefits of miniaturization and integration. The term “DNA biochip” is used broadly and includes various technologies: DNA microarrays, microfluidics/Lab-on-a-Chip and other biochips (such as integrated real-time PCR, mass spectrometry and nanotechnology-based biochips). With the abundance of gene targets and combinatorial chemistry/biology libraries now available, researchers need the ability to study the effects of diseases, environmental factors, drugs and other treatments on thousands of genes at once. Biochips can provide this information in a number of ways, depending on the type of chips and chosen design of the experiment. They can be used for pharmacogenomics that includes gene expression profiling, the measurement and analysis of regulated genes under various conditions and genotyping, the detection of polymorphisms or mutations in a gene sequence. Another major application for DNA biochips is molecular diagnostics, which includes genetic screening (e.g., detection of mutations or inherited disorders), identification of pathogens and resistance in infections and molecular oncology (e.g., cancer diagnosis). Biochips can also be use for high-throughput drug screening, chemical synthesis and many other applications.