Electrocatalytic Detection: Magnetic Bead/Gold Nanoparticle Double-Labeled Primers for Electrochemical Detection of Isothermal AmplifiedLeishmaniaDNA (Small 2/2016)

A novel design for isothermal amplification using primers labeled with both gold nanoparticles and magnetic microbeads is shown by A. Merkoçi and co-workers. On page 205, the amplified product carries both labels, allowing rapid purification and quantification. The magnetic properties of the first primer facilitate the purification/preconcentration of the amplified DNA through magnetic separation. The gold nanoparticles are easily quantified by simple electrocatalytic detection methods. Thus, the use of primers labelled with gold nanoparticles and magnetic microbeads turns isothermal amplification into a faster and easier qualitative and quantitative diagnostic method.