Allele specific LAMP- gold nanoparticle for characterization of single nucleotide polymorphisms

Due to their relevance as disease biomarkers and for diagnostics, screening of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) requires simple and straightforward strategies capable to provide results in medium throughput settings. Suitable approaches relying on isothermal amplification techniques have been evolving to substitute the cumbersome and highly specialized PCR amplification detection schemes. Nonetheless, identification of an individual's genotype still requires sophisticated equipment and laborious methods. Here, we present a low-cost and reliable approach based on the allele specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (AS-LAMP) coupled to ssDNA functionalized gold nanoparticle (Au-nanoprobe) colorimetric sequence discrimination. The Au-nanoprobe integration allows for the colorimetric detection of AS-LAMP amplification product that can be easily interpreted in less than 15 min. We targeted a clinical relevant SNP responsible for lactose intolerance (-13910C/T dbSNP rs#: 4988235) to demonstrate its proof of concept and full potential of this novel approach.