Novel confocal microarray scanner for fluorescence detection

A novel confocal microarray scanner was introduced, which employed a 532nm laser and a 635nm laser to excite Cy3 and Cy5 fluorophores respectively. The fluorescent signal was detected using a photomultiplier tube (PMT) sequentially. One dimension scanning of the microarray slide was performed by a telecentric objective with a moving coil optical scanner; the other dimension was scanned by a stepping motor driving the precise guidance. Experimental results show that scanning resolution of the presented microarray scanner can reach 5 microns, its dynamic range is near 4 orders of magnitude and the limit of detection is 1.12 about fluors per square micron. The cross-talk error is eliminated almost completely by its sequential scanning mode.