Pharmacogenetics Using Luminex xMAP Technology: A Method for Developing a Custom Multiplex Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Mutation Assay

Sequence variations in the human genome can affect the development of diseases and provide markers for the identification of genetic diseases and drug susceptibility. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), the most abundant sequence variations in the genome, are used in pharmacogenetics as indicators of drug therapy efficacy in individuals and are important road maps in the route to personalized medicine. This chapter describes the development of PCR based custom multiplex SNP mutation analysis assays using Luminex^� Multi-Analyte Profiling (xMAP^� ) Technology. Up to 500 different mutations can be detected in a single well and up to 384 samples can be analyzed per run.