Biochips

• Published in: Nature biotechnology Vol. 16; no. 10; pp. 981 - 983
• Main Author: Persidis, Aris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.10.1998
• Subjects: Base Sequence; Biotechnology; Computers; DNA; Semiconductors
• ISSN: 1087-0156; 1546-1696
• DOI: 10.1038/nbt1098-981

The notion of a cheap and reliable computer chip look-alike that performs thousands of biological reactions is very attractive to drug developers. These "biochips" automate highly repetitive laboratory tasks by replacing cumbersome equipment with miniaturized, microfluidic assay chemistries combined with ultrasensitive detection methodologies. They achieve this at significantly lower costs per assay than traditional methods - and in a significantly smaller amount of space. At present, applications are primarily focused on the analysis of genetic material for defects or sequence variations. Corporate interest centers around the potential of biochips to be used either as point-of-care diagnostics or as high-throughput-screening platforms for drug lead identification. The key challenge to making this industry as universally applicable as processor chips in the computer industry is the development of a standardized chip platform that can be used with a variety of "motherboard" systems to stimulate widespread application.