Direct detection of bacterial genomic DNA using gold nanoparticle probes

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.