Barskiĭ B E, Kolchinskiĭ A M, Lysov Iu P, Murzabekov A D
Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991 Russia.
Mol Biol (Mosk). 2002 Jul-Aug;36(4):563-84.
The MAGIChip (MicroArrays of Gel-Immobilized Compounds on a chip) consists of an array of hydrophilic gel pads fixed on a hydrophobic glass surface. These pads of several picoliters to several nanoliters in volume contain the gel-immobilized nucleic acids, proteins, and other compounds, as well as live cells. They are used to conduct chemical and enzymatic reactions with the immobilized compounds or samples bound to them. In the latter case, nucleic acid fragments can be hybridized, modified, and fractionated within the gel pads. The main procedures required to analyze nucleic acid sequences (PCR, detachment of primers and PCR-amplified products from a substrate, hybridization, ligation, and others) can be also performed within the microchip pads. A flexible, multipurpose, and inexpensive system has been developed to register the processes proceeding on a microchip. The system provides unique possibilities for research and biomedical applications, allowing one to register both equilibrium states and the course of reaction in real time. The system is applied to analyze both kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics of molecular interaction in the duplexes formed between nucleic acids and the probes immobilized within the microchip gel pads. Owing to the effect of stacking interaction of nucleic acids, the use of short oligonucleotides extends the possibilities of microchips for analysis of nucleic acid sequences, allowing one to employ the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to analyze the hybridization data. The specialized MAGIChips has been successfully applied to reveal single nucleotide polymorphism of many biologically significant genes, to identify bacteria and viruses, to detect toxins and characterize the genes of pathogenic bacteria responsible for drug resistance, and to study translocations in the human genome. On the basis of the MAGIChip, the protein microchips have been created, containing the immobilized antibodies, antigens, enzymes, and many other substances, as well as the microchips with the gel-immobilized live cells.
MAGI芯片（芯片上凝胶固定化合物微阵列）由固定在疏水玻璃表面的亲水性凝胶垫阵列组成。这些体积从几皮升到几纳升的凝胶垫包含凝胶固定的核酸、蛋白质和其他化合物，以及活细胞。它们用于与固定在其上的化合物或结合到它们的样品进行化学和酶促反应。在后一种情况下，核酸片段可以在凝胶垫内进行杂交、修饰和分离。分析核酸序列所需的主要程序（PCR、从底物上分离引物和PCR扩增产物、杂交、连接等）也可以在微芯片垫内进行。已经开发出一种灵活、多功能且廉价的系统来记录在微芯片上进行的过程。该系统为研究和生物医学应用提供了独特的可能性，使人们能够实时记录平衡状态和反应过程。该系统用于分析核酸与固定在微芯片凝胶垫内的探针形成的双链体中分子相互作用的动力学和热力学特征。由于核酸的堆积相互作用，短寡核苷酸的使用扩展了微芯片分析核酸序列的可能性，使人们能够使用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（MALDI-TOF质谱）来分析杂交数据。专门的MAGI芯片已成功应用于揭示许多具有生物学意义的基因的单核苷酸多态性、识别细菌和病毒、检测毒素以及表征负责耐药性的致病细菌基因，以及研究人类基因组中的易位。基于MAGI芯片，已经制造出包含固定化抗体、抗原、酶和许多其他物质的蛋白质微芯片，以及带有凝胶固定活细胞的微芯片。
