Overview
As protein arrays have become increasingly consistent and reliable, more scientists have recently begun to incorporate them into their proteomics experiments. Researchers are attracted by the technology's ability to detect protein expression more quickly and easily than traditional approaches such as 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. By allowing scientists to look at multiple protein interactions simultaneously, the seemingly insurmountable challenge of characterizing an organism's entire collection of proteins (i.e., proteome) is within reach. While there is tremendous excitement about the potential of protein arrays to further our understanding about protein expression, function and structure on a microscopically global level, there is also hesitancy on behalf of many scientists to adopt a technology that is often still perceived as unstable and irreproducible. This report, Protein Microarrays: Technology Adoption & Utilization, provides life science suppliers with actionable insights on how to overcome this stigma and convert proteomics researchers into future customers. In addition to dispelling any lingering misconceptions about the technology's performance, suppliers also face substantive issues related to product development. In particular, these are key decisions about array content. To inform decision makers, this report examines the most critical factors related to array content as specified by both current and future protein microarray users: • Molecular interactions preferred
• Applications performed
• Protein classes studied
• Number of proteins arrayed (i.e., density)
• Replicates required
• Samples per array analyzed One emerging trend in array content is comprehensive proteome arrays, which represent all the major proteins of a target organism. While in their early stages, these so-called whole proteome arrays will forge high-throughput analysis and comprehensive measurements into a powerful tool for deciphering a plethora of proteins. Despite their promise of omnipotence, the market demand for whole proteome arrays has previously been uncertain. This report assesses scientists' level of interest in this type of array. Additionally, it identifies which collections of proteins would be most desirable to print and how much scientists would be willing to pay for these high-density arrays. Differences in array content translate into performance metrics such as dynamic range, reproducibility and resolution. By analyzing scientists' valuation of these metrics, this report provides suppliers with pricing models to effectively position their protein array technology in the proteomics market. Furthermore, it also examines other key drivers of protein array usage such as company reputation, product support and vendor agreements. While offering concrete measures by which suppliers can enhance their technologies' competitive advantages, Protein Microarrays: Technology Adoption & Utilization, also offers first-hand knowledge on overcoming frustrating technical limitations that currently hamper scientists' investigations and limit the widespread use of protein array technology. | 
