Duck P, Alvarado-Urbina G, Burdick B, Collier B
Meiogenics, Inc., Columbia, MD 21045.
Biotechniques. 1990 Aug;9(2):142-8.
Amplification systems are required as part of DNA probe technology, since traditional non-amplified oligonucleotide hybridization using nonradioactive detection methods have detection limits of approximately 10(8) molecules. We present a probe amplifier technology suitable for use in large-scale automated clinical diagnostic systems. It is fast, sensitive and performs at a constant temperature. The system functions by allowing a single target molecule to act as a catalyst in converting a large number of probe molecules to a unique detectable form. We refer to this catalytic amplification process as the "cycling probe reaction." The basis of the system is an oligomer probe construction consisting of a DNA-RNA-DNA sequence.
