Digitized point-of-care diagnostics: Reading disc-based bioassays with a standard computer drive

微阵列技术是生物分子相互作用高通量分析的有力工具，在基因分析、免疫分析和药物发现方面具有重要意义。然而，它的应用目前仅限于生物医学实验室或具有广泛基础设施的医院环境（例如，机器人观察者，荧光扫描仪）。基于光盘（CD）的生物分子筛选是一种有前途的、廉价的替代方法，特别适用于即时护理的临床诊断（例如，在医生办公室或偏远地区）。将标准台式/笔记本电脑及其附件直接用于快速生物医学诊断，将构成健康研究领域的重大突破：光驱可作为检测器，塑料CD/DVD底座可作为准备结合分析的平台。

Microarray technology is a powerful tool for high-throughput analysis of biomolecular interactions, which is important for gene profiling, immunoassays, and drug discovery. However, its application is currently restrictec to biomedical laboratories or hospital settings with extensive infrastructure (e.g., robotic spotter, fluorescence scanner). Compact disc (CD)-based biomolecular screening is a promising, inexpensive alternative, especially suitable for point-of-care clinical diagnostics (e.g., in a doctor's office or remote areas). The direct adaptation of standard desktop/laptop computers and accessories for rapid biomedical diagnosis would constitute a major breakthrough in the field of health research: the optical drive can serve as detector and the plastic CD/DVD base as platform for the preparation of binding assays.