This process is called transcription. Then the unknown DNA or RNA is washed over a biochip, which has single-stranded DNA or RNA affixed to its surface. Currently pharmaceutical research is the only market for biochips. They are being used to discover new drugs and in research into functional genomics. In new drug research, biochips are used in drug assays and in toxicology, where the biochips can test the toxicity of new drugs so that fewer, or perhaps eventually, no animal testing needs to be done.
Functional genomics is the area where biochips are being most widely used.
Nucleic acid chips are being used to identify which genes are active during specific disease states, and which ones are active in normal tissue. This information tells researchers which genes are responsible for specific diseases. Ultimately this sort of research can lead to personalized medicine, or pharmacogenomics. It is postulated that at some point in the future, if a person, or animal, becomes sick with a microbial infection, they will go to the doctor office where a genetic analysis will be done on the infecting bacteria. The doctor will know, within an hour, exactly what the infecting organism is, and exactly what antibiotic, at what level, will kill it.