Agilent Technologies introduces secure Web portal for designing custom microarrays for genomic research
Agilent Technologies Inc. has introduced eArray 3.0, a secure Web portal for designing custom microarrays used in drug discovery, disease studies and basic research. This free, online tool empowers scientists to design their own microarrays with increased flexibility, speed and control.
DNA microarray technology enables scientists to assess patterns of gene expression or genomic alterations that underlie diseases and other biological processes. Some experiments can be conducted using ready-made, “off-the-shelf” microarrays, but many scientists require customized genomic content to meet their specific research needs. The eArray portal is the first free, online service that gives scientists full control of the design, layout and format of a microarray while providing easy access to Agilent’s high-quality, up-to-date genomic content.
The eArray portal is the newest addition to Agilent’s growing suite of integrated solutions for genomics research, which includes catalog and custom microarrays as well as optimized reagents, hardware and software. “Our secure microarray design portal is the latest in a series of innovations we’ve introduced to expand our genomics solutions and improve the productivity of genomics research,” said Mike Booth, general manager of the gene expression group at Agilent.
The eArray portal will improve the workflow of genomics research, from experimental design through publication of results. “This online tool will change the way custom microarrays are designed, and will help provide more scientists with high-quality, reliable, fully customized tools to address their individual research interests,” said Scott Harrison, custom microarray program manager at Agilent.
The eArray portal offers customers access to Agilent’s genomic content, annotation information and probe sequences, and enables them to design custom microarrays using catalog probes, probes from their own sources or a combination of both. Once the full complement of probes has been selected, customers can compose the microarray using various layouts (1 x 44K, 1 x 22K, or 2 x 11K probes per slide).
In addition to increased flexibility and control of design, the benefits of the eArray portal include:
- Real-time online design.
- Open access to validated catalog probes.
- Open access to probe sequences, gene symbols and transcript information linked to external public databases.
- Access to Agilent’s SurePrint DNA microarray technology, which supports multiple formats and layouts, allows users to add their own content, provides built-in quality assurance probes and facilitates the timely update of genomic material.
- Compatibility with Agilent’s feature extraction software and data analysis software.
More information about eArray is available at earray.chem.agilent.com.
About Agilent in Gene Expression
Agilent Technologies is a leading provider of complete microarray-based research solutions, with more than 500 customers worldwide. With its proprietary inkjet-based manufacturing technique, Agilent provides highly sensitive 60-mer oligo microarrays in custom and catalog formats. Agilent provides a 48-slide high-throughput microarray scanner, the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer with RNA LabChip kits for sample quality analysis, feature extraction software, Silicon Genetics software products, Rosetta gene expression data analysis systems, and a range of reagents. Product information is available at www.agilent.com/chem/dna .
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company’s 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com .
