methods for determining the quality of a biomolecular microarray to determine suitability of the microarray for performing specific binding reactions , such as hybridization , are provided . methods are based on staining a microarray with a solution of detectable nanoparticles that reversibly stain the biomolecules through an electrostatic interaction to select microarrays that meet quality standards for hybridization reactions . a gold nanoparticle solution based staining method for dna microarrays is provided . destaining methods allowing multiple rounds of hybridization of nanogold stained microarrays are provided . microarrays selected by methods of the invention are provided .