Published online 6 June 2005
Methods Online |
DNA microarrays on a dendron-modified surface improve significantly the detection of single nucleotide variations in the p53 gene
Division of Molecular and Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology Pohang 790-784, Korea 1Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center Goyang, 411-764, Korea
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +82 54 279 2295; Fax: +82 54 279 8290; Email: kchoi{at}postech.ac.kr
Received April 9, 2005. Revised May 16, 2005. Accepted May 16, 2005.
Selectivity and sensitivity in the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are among most important attributes to determine the performance of DNA microarrays. We previously reported the generation of a novel mesospaced surface prepared by applying dendron molecules on the solid surface. DNA microarrays that were fabricated on the dendron-modified surface exhibited outstanding performance for the detection of single nucleotide variation in the synthetic oligonucleotide DNA. DNA microarrays on the dendron-modified surface were subjected to the detection of single nucleotide variations in the exons 58 of the p53 gene in genomic DNAs from cancer cell lines. DNA microarrays on the dendron-modified surface clearly discriminated single nucleotide variations in hotspot codons with high selectivity and sensitivity. The ratio between the fluorescence intensity of perfectly matched duplexes and that of single nucleotide mismatched duplexes was >5100 without sacrificing signal intensity. Our results showed that the outstanding performance of DNA microarrays fabricated on the dendron-modified surface is strongly related to novel properties of the dendron molecule, which has the conical structure allowing mesospacing between the capture probes. Our microarrays on the dendron-modified surface can reduce the steric hindrance not only between the solid surface and target DNA, but also among immobilized capture probes enabling the hybridization process on the surface to be very effective. Our DNA microarrays on the dendron-modified surface could be applied to various analyses that require accurate detection of SNPs.