Functional protein microarrays: just how functional are they?

Arrays of immobilized proteins have been developed for the discovery and characterization of protein functions ranging from molecular recognition to enzymatic activity. The success of these applications is highly dependent upon the maintenance of protein structure and function while in an immobilized state — a largely untested hypothesis. However, the immobilization of functional proteins is not without precedent. Active enzymes have been successfully immobilized for industrial applications for several decades. Furthermore, a survey of recent protein microarray literature reveals that an even wider range of proteins can maintain ‘proper’ function while immobilized. These reports help to validate the functionality of so-called functional protein microarrays.