Direct quantification of AD-36 adenovirus DNA by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence

An adenovirus, AD-36, has been linked to human adiposity and a sensitive and reliable quantitative method is required to assess AD-36 viral loads. This report describes direct detection of AD-36 viral DNA, which is the first method to quantitate DNA without amplification. Total genomic DNA is hybridized with an AD-36 specific fluorescently labeled probe and analyzed by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence. The minimum detectable quantity is 10.3 ng/ml, corresponding to 282 copies of AD-36 with a precision of 1-6%. These results indicate that direct detection with capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) is a reliable and sensitive method for quantifying AD-36 viral DNA.