Novel fluorescent microarray platforms: a case study in neurodegenerative disorders

This review focuses on the fluorescent protein microarrays applied to neurodegenerative disorders, a major health problem in our aging society. Biomarker discovery studies and work on new diagnostic tests are both included. Three platforms are described: antibody planar microarrays, comprising an array of well-defined antibodies for the simultaneous capture of biomarkers; antigen planar microarrays in which proteins, peptides or small molecules are immobilized and probed with biological samples to chase specific antibodies; and bead-based array platforms, which are flow cytometry-based methods in which capture molecules are coupled to fluorescent microspheres, facilitating the simultaneous quantification of several analytes.