Factors deciding oligo length ?

[Lele]

Hi! All,

Here's a specific question I need to address in a Microarray project.

1) Different companies have oligos (oligonucletides) with different lengths. My understanding is, the oligo length should be sample specific. However a glance at company websites tells me that each one has come up with their own lengths (25-mer, 60-mer etc.). I need to know what makes them choose one over the other? I am looking for literature answering the same. Shall highly appreciate if someone can direct me to a good source or send a detailed reply.

Thanks,
Lele

[iansmith]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15531611

[Lele]

Could someone explain in very basic terms. On research papers it seems like melting point is more significant than the length. Is there any generalization to the length of the probe or it depends from experiment to experiment ?

Thanks,
lele