Readout method for molecular biological electronically addressable arrays

Abstract

A method for reading out data from microlocations of a microelectronic array involves activating multiple microlocations in parallel and simultaneously detecting the responses from the activated microlocations to determine concentrations of molecular biological material at each microlocation. In a preferred embodiment, the microelectronic array includes electronically addressable electrodes at each microlocation which can be individually activated via a control system. An electrochemiluminescent detection technique is used to detect the presence and determine the concentration of bound molecular biological material that is located at each microlocation. Electrochemiluminescent material is utilized because it gives off light when excited by an applied electrical field. With an addressable microelectronic array, electrical fields can be applied to various combinations of microlocations simultaneously to allow readout of several microlocations in parallel. This is in contrast to the laser-based readout approach which applies activation energy to one microlocation at a time by impacting each microlocation with a single laser system. Reading out multiple microlocations simultaneously in accordance with the invention can produce significant time savings in large arrays.