Bead agitation

In ordinary DNA microarray, DNA diffusion in the hybridization solution is slow. Therefore, an adequate level of reaction between the probe and target cannot be expected. For the 3D-Gene®, the hybridization solution and microbeads are enclosed in a reaction chamber, and the microarray is shaken. Therefore, active agitation of solution can be performed, and the reactivity is greatly improved compared to when the solution is allowed to stand (Fig. A). The results of hybridization experiments also show that the effective spots increased by approximately 2000 spots compared to a reaction without agitation (Fig. B). An effective spot refers to a spot which can be significantly distinguished from the background noise.
A solution is agitated dynamically using beads. When a flat DNA microarray is agitated with beads, the probe surface will be scratched. Since the probe is immobilized on the upper end of the columnar substrate structure of the 3D-Gene®, the probe is not scratched by the beads.