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The EXP
file contains information captured in the Experiment window of the MAS 5 software.
Experiment files are not available in GCOS or LIMS. Experiment information in
those applications are stored in a database and are available via the Affymetrix
GCOS SDK.
The format of the EXP
file is an ASCII text file similar to the Windows INI format.
The first
line defines the file type. The value is always: "Affymetrix GeneChip Experiment
Information". The second line contains the version number of the file. The
value is always: "Version 1". The remainder of the file is divided up into
sections. The start of each section is defined by a line containing a section
name enclosed in square braces. The section names are: "Sample Info", "Fluidics"
and "Scanner". The data in each section is of the format TAG<tab>VALUE,
where the TAG and VALUE are separated by a tab. The "Sample Info" section
contains information about the experiment. The TAGS are:
| TAG | Description | MAS
Term (as displayed in the Experiment window) | | Chip Type | The
type of probe array. This is the only required field. | Probe
Array Type | | Chip Lot | The
lot number of the array. | Probe Array Lot |
| Operator | The
name of the user. | Operator Name |
| Sample Type | The type
of sample. | Sample Type | | Description | A
description of the sample. | Sample Description |
| Project | The project
name. | Sample Project | | Comments | Comments
about the experiment. | Comments |
| Solution Type | The
reagents used in the experiment. | Reagents |
| Solution Lot | The
lot number of the reagents. | Reagent Lot |
The "Fluidics" section contains information about the last fluidics
run. The TAGS are:
| TAG | Description | MAS
Term (as displayed in the Experiment window) | | Protocol | The
name of the fluidics protocol run on the fluidics station. | Protocol |
| Station | The station
number. | Fluidics Station | | Module | The
module number. | Module | | Hybridize
Date | The date and time of the hybridization. | Date |
Other tags may be in this section. The names of the tags are the steps
in the fluidics script executed on the experiment. Other lines in this section
may be defined but do not follow the TAG<tab>VALUE format. These lines may
include status messages provided by the fluidics station.The "Scanner"
section contains information about the last scan. The TAGS are:
| TAG | Description | MAS
Term (as displayed in the Experiment window) | | Pixel Size | The
pixel size used. | Pixel Size | | Filter | The
filter used. | Filter |
| Scan Temperature |
This item is not used by the current GeneChip scanners. |
Temperature | |
Scan Date | The
date and time of the scan. | Date |
| Scanner ID | The ID
of the scanner. | Scanner ID | | Number
of Scans | The number of multi-image scans. | #
of scans | | Scanner Type | The
type of scanner. | NA | | 
