Affymetrix GeneChip Arrays

Affymetrix GeneChips remain the principle tool for high throughput gene expression analysis. There are several advantages that make this technology highly suitable for application to clinical studies. These include comprehensive transcriptome analysis on a single array (over 47,000 transcripts on the human 133 2.0 Plus array), a steady drop in cost/transcript from $0.33/gene in 2000 to $0.0096/gene in 2004, and highly standardized array manufacturing and sample processing protocols making analysis of data from different institutes or facilities possible.