Simple synthesis of massively parallel RNA microarrays via enzymatic conversion from DNA microarrays

RNA catalytic and binding interactions with proteins and small molecules are fundamental elements of cellular life processes as well as the basis for RNA therapeutics and molecular engineering. In the absence of quantitative predictive capacity for such bioaffinity interactions, high throughput experimental approaches are needed to sufficiently sample RNA sequence space. Here we report on a simple and highly accessible approach to convert commercially available customized DNA microarrays of any complexity and density to RNA microarrays via a T7 RNA polymerase-mediated extension of photocrosslinked methyl RNA primers and subsequent degradation of the DNA templates.