Protein microarrays

In the past decade, protein microarrays have become powerful platforms for both basic and translational research. They can address several important questions in the proteomics field, including the identification of ligand partners and substrates, the study of posttranslational modifications, the quantification of protein levels in biological samples, the analysis of cell signaling pathways, and the identification of biomarkers for early diagnosis, disease progression, and therapy response. The diversity among microarray platforms as well as the experimental designs provides the necessary experimental flexibility to allow their use in this vast range of applications. In this chapter, we will discuss the current status of the protein microarray field, describing the different platforms that are available (antibody microarrays, peptide microarrays, and protein microarrays) and examples of their application.