Photoimmobilization for microarrays.

A photoimmobilization method has been developed for the preparation of microarray biochips. This photoimmobilization method makes it possible to easily covalently immobilize various types of organic molecules and cells on a chip. In addition, by using hydrophilic polymers as matrixes, it is possible to reduce nonspecific interactions with biological components. Various proteins, antibodies, and cells have been microarrayed using this technique, and interactions between these proteins, antibodies, and cells have been investigated. This type of microarray biochip will be important for academic applications such as genomics, proteomics, and cellomics, and clinical analyses.