Living cells are remarkably complex. To unravel this complexity, living-cell assays have been developed that allow delivery of experimental stimuli and measurement of the resulting cellular responses. High-throughput adaptations of these assays, known as living-cell microarrays, which are based on microtiter plates, high-density spotting, microfabrication, and microfluidics technologies, are being developed for two general applications: (a) to screen large-scale chemical and genomic libraries and (b) to systematically investigate the local cellular microenvironment. These emerging experimental platforms offer exciting opportunities to rapidly identify genetic determinants of disease, to discover modulators of cellular function, and to probe the complex and dynamic relationships between cells and their local environment.

中文翻译：

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 活细胞微阵列。


活细胞非常复杂。为了揭示这种复杂性，人们开发了活细胞测定法，可以传递实验刺激并测量由此产生的细胞反应。这些测定的高通量改造，称为活细胞微阵列，基于微量滴定板、高密度点样、微加工和微流体技术，正在开发用于两个一般应用：(a) 筛选大规模化学物质和基因组文库以及（b）系统地研究局部细胞微环境。这些新兴的实验平台提供了令人兴奋的机会，可以快速识别疾病的遗传决定因素，发现细胞功能的调节剂，并探索细胞与其局部环境之间复杂且动态的关系。