PMA: Protein Microarray Analyser a user-friendly tool for data processing and normalization

摘要

ObjectiveProtein microarrays provide a high-throughput platform to measure protein interactions and associated functions, and can aid in the discovery of cancer biomarkers. The resulting protein microarray data can however be subject to systematic bias and noise, thus requiring a robust data processing, normalization and analysis pipeline to ensure high quality and robust results. To date, a comprehensive data processing pipeline is yet to be developed. Furthermore, a lack of analysis consistency is evident amongst different research groups, thereby impeding collaborative data consolidation and comparison. Thus, we sought to develop an accessible data processing tool using methods that are generalizable to the protein microarray field and which can be adapted to individual array layouts with minimal software engineering expertise.