A method of microarray data storage using array data type.

A well-designed microarray database can provide valuable information on gene expression levels. However, designing an efficient microarray database with minimum space usage is not an easy task since designers need to integrate the microarray data with the information of genes, probe annotation, and the descriptions of each microarray experiment. Developing better methods to store microarray data can greatly improve the efficiency and usefulness of such data. A new schema is proposed to store microarray data by using array data type in an object-relational database management system--PostgreSQL. The implemented database can store all the microarray data from the same chip in an array data structure. The variable-length array data type in PostgreSQL can store microarray data from same chip. The implementation of our schema can help to increase the data retrieval and space efficiency.