General Information
Over the last few decades, techniques in the field of cytogenetics have greatly improved, which has led to a significant increase in the detection rate of chromosomal aberrations. In traditional cytogenetic techniques, the resolution level is limited to at best ≈5 Megabases (Mb), and smaller chromosomal aberrations are generally not detected. In order to solve this problem and achieve higher resolution, it is necessary to replace metaphase chromosomes with oligonucleotide arrays. The resolution of oligonucleotide arrays is up to 200 times greater than conventional chromosome-based techniques.
Affymetrix and Agilent microarray platforms are among the world’s leading DNA chip technologies. Agilent’s Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (CGH) arrays provide a powerful tool for the genome-wide detection of copy number variations (CNVs). Affymetrix GeneChip® Human Mapping SNP 6.0 and the Cytogenetics can be used for SNP Genotyping, for the detection of genetic imbalances, such as copy number variants (CNVs), loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH), and copy number-neutral LOH; the so-called uniparental disomy.
