Fabrication of sol-gel-derived protein microarrays for diagnostics and screening

In recent decades analytical science has witnessed a rise in the utility of immobilized biomolecules for sensing applications. Biological recognition elements provide unsurpassed selectivity and specificity that is difficult to reproduce synthetically. Advances in biochemistry, molecular biology, and immunochemistry have allowed for a rapid expansion in the range of biological recognition elements used in the field of biosensing and solid-phase assays; with uses spanning the selective extraction, delivery, separation, conversion and detection of numerous target analytes. The employment of biomolecules such as enzymes, antibodies, DNA and membrane-bound receptors, and more complex biological entities such as organelles, microorganisms, animal and plant cells or tissues in these applications has typically relied heavily on their successful immobilization onto or within a suitable transducer surface.