Microarray RNA transcriptional profiling: Part I. Platforms, experimental design and standardization

This review summarizes, in a balanced and comprehensive manner, the various components of microarrays and their types, substrate architecture, platforms for microarray probe implementation, standardizations and confounders. The review is intended to familiarize the beginner with the principles of experimental design and the selection of an appropriate microarray platform. This parallel technology has revolutionized transcriptomic approaches to data profiling and has a major role in the identification of expressed genes, classification and diagnosis studies. The technology is still evolving and guidelines for standardization and reporting have been developed and are being improved.