Nanogen Issued Patent for Electronic Microarray With Memory

Nanogen, a developer of advanced diagnostic products, has been issued U.S. Patent No. 6,867,048, "Multiplexed Active Biologic Array" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The patent relates to a method of addressing one or more electrodes (or "test sites") across multiple rows and columns of a microarray. The patent also covers a method for storing the value of the voltage associated with each electrode in a local memory. This "smart chip" technology is a key feature of Nanogen's NanoChip 400 electronic microarray, the company's second generation multipurpose system for developing and performing molecular diagnostic tests.

Using local memory circuits provides for precise control of the currents delivered to individual electrodes on the array, while minimizing the utilization of "off-chip" circuitry and overall system costs. The electric potential is controlled at each of the NanoChip's 400 test sites to move and concentrate DNA or RNA, providing accuracy, speed and flexibility for developing molecular diagnostic tests.