POLYPYRROLE DNA CHIP ON A SILICON DEVICE - EXAMPLE OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS GENOTYPING

We describe in this article an oligonucleotide array constructed on a silicon device bearing a matrix of addressable 50-mu m microelectrodes . Each electrode was covered by a conducting polymer (polypyrrole) gra fted by an oligonucleotide (ODN). The DNA chip was prepared by success ive electrochemically addressed copolymerizations of 5' pyrrole-labele d ODN and pyrrole. Following hybridization of the biotinylated amplifi ed sample on the chip bearing a series of probes, detection was carrie d out by fluorescence microscopy through an R-phycoerythrin label. Thi s technology was successfully applied to the genotyping of hepatitis C virus in blood samples. Results show good sensitivity and a high degr ee of dimensional resolution. (C) 1998 Academic Press.