Affymetrix GeneChip Operating Software

Affymetrix, Inc. was an American company that manufactured DNA microarrays; it was based in Santa Clara, California, United States. The company was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific in March 2016. Affymetrix, Inc. was an American company that manufactured DNA microarrays; it was based in Santa Clara, California, United States. The company was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific in March 2016. The company was founded by Stephen Fodor in 1992. It began as a unit in Affymax N.V. in 1991 by Fodor's group, which had in the late 1980s developed methods for fabricating DNA microarrays, called 'GeneChip' according to the Affymetrix trademark, using semiconductor manufacturing techniques. The company's first product, an HIV genotyping GeneChip, was introduced in 1994 and the company went public in 1996. As a result of its pioneering work and the ensuing popularity of microarray products, Affymetrix derived significant benefit from its patent portfolio in this area. Affymetrix acquired Genetic MicroSystems for slide-based microarrays and scanners,Neomorphic for bioinformatics,ParAllele Bioscience for custom SNP genotyping,USB/Anatrace for biochemical reagents,eBioscience for flow cytometry,and Panomics and True Materials to expand its offering of low to mid-plex applications.In 2000, Perlegen Sciences spun out from Affymetrix to focus on wafer-scale genomics for massive data creation and collection required for characterizing population variance of genomic markers and expression for the drug discovery process. On January 8, 2016, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced the acquisition of Affymetrix for approximately $1.3 billion. The acquisition closed on March 31, 2016. Affymetrix makes quartz chips for analysis of DNA Microarrays called GeneChip arrays. Affymetrix's GeneChip arrays assist researchers in quickly scanning for the presence of particular genes in a biological sample. Within this area, Affymetrix is focused on oligonucleotide microarrays. These microarrays are used to determine which genes exist in a sample by detecting specific pieces of mRNA. A single chip can be used to analyze thousands of genes in one assay. Chips can be used only once. Affymetrix sells both mass-produced GeneChip arrays intended to match scientifically important parts of human and other animal genomes. Affymetrix manufactures its GeneChip arrays using photolithography. The company also manufactures machinery for high speed analysis of biological samples.