Diagnostic challenges for multiplexed protein microarrays

Multiplexed protein analysis using planar microarrays or microbeads is growing in popularity for simultaneous assays of antibodies, cytokines, allergens, drugs and hormones. However, this new assay format presents several new operational issues for the clinical laboratory, such as the quality control of protein-microarray-based assays, the release of unrequested test data and the use of diagnostic algorithms to transform microarray data into diagnostic results.