Chemical microarrays constructed by selective attachment of hydrazide-conjugated substances to epoxide surfaces and their applications.

Microarray technology has received considerable attention for rapid analysis of biomolecular interactions and high-throughput screening to identify binding partners. An efficient and selective immobilization technique of substances on the surface is essential for successful construction of microarrays. Although a variety of immobilization methods have been exploited to prepare microarrays over the past decade, a superior technique needs to be developed for diverse applications. Recently, an efficient and simple method that relies on selective reactions between the hydrazide conjugated to substances and the epoxide derivatized on the solid surface was developed to fabricate chemical microarrays. Reactions between hydrazides with epoxides are highly selective in that they take place even in the presence of other potent nucleophiles such as amines and thiols. This technique is utilized to immobilize various substances such as small molecules, carbohydrates, and peptides to glass surfaces. The microarrays constructed by this immobilization method are used to evaluate protein binding to carbohydrates, peptides, and small molecules. In addition, the microarrays are also employed to determine binding affinities between proteins and binding partners as well as profiling of enzyme activities.