Instrument manufacturers, recognizing that bench space is at a premium, are downsizing their products, and Santa Clara, Calif.-based Affymetrix is no exception. The company's new GeneChip® Scanner 3000, a PC-sized scanner that requires neither external laser power supplies nor special ventilation systems, is one-third the size of the company's current system, according to Chip Leveille, senior director of corporate marketing and instrumentation. Leveille says the GeneChip Scanner 3000 lays the foundation for the continued improvement of Affymetrix's microarray platform, providing higher resolution, faster scan times, and increased data reproducibility. In addition, the new system is set up for future automation.
The new reader achieves these goals through the use of a scanning technology called Flying Objective(TM), which Affymetrix obtained when it acquired Massachusetts-based Genetic MicroSystems in 2000. The scanners originally based on this technology were used for slides with 100-200 µm features, says Nate Weiner, program manager for scanner development. ...
