Genotyping Technologies: Application to Biotransformation Enzyme Genetic Polymorphism Screening

Pharmacogenomics encompasses several major areas: the study of polymorphic variations in drug response and disease susceptibility, identification of the effects of drugs/xenobiotics at the genomic level, and genotype/phenotype associations. The most common type of human genetic variations is single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Several novel approaches to detection of SNPs are currently available. The range of new methods includes modifications of several conventional techniques, such as PCR, mass spectrometry (ms), and sequencing, as well as more innovative technologies such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and microarrays. The application of each of these techniques is largely dependent on the number of SNPs to be screened and sample size. The current chapter presents an overview of the general concepts of a variety of genotyping technologies, with an emphasis on the recently developed methodologies, including a comparison of the advantages, applicability, cost efficiency, and limitations of these methods.