Abstract
Microarray chip technology such as DNA chips, peptide chips and protein chips is one of the promising approaches for achieving high-throughput screening (HTS) of biomolecule function since it has great advantages in feasibility of automated information processing due to one-to-one indexing between array position and molecular function as well as massively parallel sample analysis as a benefit of down-sizing and large-scale integration. Mostly, however, the function that can be evaluated by such microarray chips is limited to affinity of target molecules. In this paper, we propose a new HTS system of enzymatic activity based on microreactor array chip technology. A prototype of the automated and massively parallel measurement system for fluorometric assay of enzymatic reactions was developed by the combination of microreactor array chips and a highly-sensitive fluorescence microscope. Design strategy of microreactor array chips and an optical measurement platform for the high-throughput enzyme assay are discussed.
