Results: Seven marker genes were identified as differentially expressed in IBD, making it possible to discriminate between patients suffering from UC, CD, or IBS with area under the receiver-operating characteristic curves ranging from 0.915 to 0.999 ( P <. In quantitative polymerase chain reaction experiments, the differential expressions of identified genes then were analyzed using a classification algorithm and the possible clinical value of these marker genes was evaluated in a total of 301 patients in 3 stepwise studies. Methods: Subtractive suppression hybridization was used to identify IBD-specific genes in colonic mucosal biopsy specimens. The aim of this study was to identify and assess the utility of a certain set of marker genes that could help to distinguish IBS from IBD, and further to discriminate between UC and CD.

In addition, the 2 major forms of IBD, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), have overlapping nonspecific, pathologic features leading to difficulties in assessing colonic inflammation and hence the term IBD unclassified has been proposed. Because many of the symptoms of IBD are similar to those of IBS, the former may be misdiagnosed. Several groups are currently pursuing these forms of inkjet technology for a variety of dispensing applications (Glaxo Wellcome (Research Triangle, NC), Cartesian Engineering (Durham, NC), Packard Instruments (Meriden, CT), Pharmacopeia (Princeton, NJ), Microfab (Plano, TX)).Background & Aims: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are heterogeneous disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and can profoundly affect the quality of life. Biasing the crystal causes the reservoir to compress and eject the liquid from the orifice. Piezoelectric inkjet technology uses a piezoelectric crystal coupled to a liquid reservoir (e.g. Opening the solenoid valve for several milliseconds produces an acoustic or pressure wave which increases in linear velocity as it passes through the orifice. Hydraulic pressure, generated through the use of a syringe pump, permits accurate displacement of the fluid and is more amenable to aspiration. Gas provides an inexpensive source of pressure but can be less accurate as compared to hydraulic pressure. Solenoid inkjet technology uses gas or hydraulic pressure to compress the fluid against an inkjet valve. Thermal inkjet technology, made popular by Hewlett-Packard (Sunnyvale, CA) inkjet printers, heats the fluid (ink) with a resistive element causing it to expand against the orifice. Inkjet technologies differ by the means used for creating the compressive force, as shown in Figure 1. All inkjet technology uses some means of compressing a liquid against a small orifice creating sufficient linear velocity to eject the fluid in the form of a drop. One such technology is inkjet dispensing, based on the technology used in the inkjet printing industry. Rigler, Fluorescence Correlations, Single Molecules Detection and Large Number Screening: Applications in Biotechnology, T. Mathis, Europium (III) Trisbipyridine Cryptate Label for Time-Resolved Fluorescence Detection of PCR Products Fixed on a Solid Support, Clin. Mathis, Rare Earth Cryptates and Homogenious Fluoroimmunoassays, Clin. Crommelin, Preparation and Application of a Fluorescien-Labeled Peptide for Determining the Affinity Constant for a Monoclonal Antibody-Hapten Complex by Fluorescence Polarization, Anal. Rose, Characterization of an Inkjet Chemical Microdispenser for Combinatorial Library Synthesis, Anal. Yuan, A High Density Screening Format for Encoded Combinatorial Libraries, Anal. Burbaum and Nolan Seigel, New Technologies for High Throughput Screening, Current Opinions in Chemical and Biology, 1 (1), in press for 1997. Burbaum, “Implementation of Microvolume Assays in High Density Microtiter Plates”, Lab Automation ’97, San Diego, January 19, 1997.

Enzyme plotting software deltagraph