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Microarray analysis has emerged in the last few years as a flexible method for analyzing large numbers of nucleic acid fragments in parallel. Its origins can be traced to several different disciplines and techniques. Microarrays can be seen as a continued development of molecular biology hybridization methods, as an extension of the use of fluorescence microscopy in cell biology, as well as a diagnostic assay using capture to solid surface as a way to reduce the amount of analytes needed. The convergence of ideas and principles utilized in these fields, together with technological advancements in preparing miniaturized collections of nucleic acids on solid supports, have all contributed to the emergence of microarray and microchip technologies.