ABSTRACT
The molecular probes and associated instrumentation necessary to perform genetic analyses are typically expensive, complex, and prone to error. While techniques such as real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene expression analysis have provided a wealth of information previously unattainable, their utility in clinical diagnostics has yet to be realized due to the aforementioned limitations. Nanosphere Inc. has developed a gold nanoparticle-based platform for sequence specific DNA detection that is well-suited for clinical diagnostics due to its cost-effectiveness, simplicity, and accuracy. Thirteen nanometer gold nanoparticle probes, stabilized by a shell of oligonucleotides using proprietary attachment chemistries, enable highly sensitive and specific detection of bacterial genomic DNA sequences without synthetic amplification techniques on a glass array. After silver staining, light scattered by the nanoparticle probes is collected with robust, cost-effective instrumentation. It is the unique features of Nanosphere's detection methodology that provide the necessary steps forward to allow for genetic analyses to become part of routine clinical diagnostics.
