title: An automated nanoliter dispenser for staining individual biopsies in tissue microarrays.
abstract: In the field of molecular analysis of cancer, there exists a need for a clinical device that can automate protocols for immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization diagnostic staining on tissue microarrays. The tissue microarray antibody spotter (TMAS) has been developed to provide fundamental improvements over current histological staining techniques by enabling precision application of reagents to individual biopsies within a tissue microarray. This allows for multiplexed reactions on a single slide and promises to significantly reduce costs associated with immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization based assays. Additionally, because TMAS allows for testing of different biomarkers on each element of a tissue array, a complete cancer profile can be obtained from a single TMA slide. Ultimately this may lead to cost-effective, faster and more accurate diagnosis of the patient.
authors.affiliation: Applied Biophysics Laboratory, The University of British Columbia, and James Hogg iCapture Centre, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada.
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slobodan
authors.forename: Dylan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gunn
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Kurtis
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guggenheimer
authors.forename: Keddie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Homenuke
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Belak
authors.forename: Diponkar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Broemeling
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marziali
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000295:instrumentation; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*