“Adaptive PCR”

Adaptive PCR
Biomedical engineers at Vanderbilt University have devised a handheld PCR machine that uses “left-handed” DNA (i.e. the Z form) as a primer for amplifying a single stranded DNA of interest. They call this approach “adaptive PCR” and its adaption is in using fluorescently labeled left handed sequences. The fluorescent labels show the ideal cycle temperature for denaturing and annealing, which gives control over the process. A microprocessor determines from the fluorescence level when all the DNA has separated. Consequently, a PCR cycler the size of business printer can be shrunk to roughly the size of a smartphone. MIT’s Alexander Rich discovered the left-coiling form of DNA in 1979 and for many years it was thought to have no biological function. MORE
Image Credit: Anne Rayner / Vanderbilt