EasyBeacons for the detection of methylation status of single CpG duplets

This chapter describes two different fast protocols for optimizing EasyBeacons for the challenging detection of the methylation status of a single CpG duplet in bisulfitetreated DNA. EasyBeacons can be used in multiplex detections even if they do not have the same affinity for their respective targets giving very specific results for both realtime polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) detection and endpoint analysis using inexpensive master mixes. The technology described in this chapter is a very competitive alternative to other real-time PCR technologies.