Capillary electrophoresis of DNA potential utility for clinical diagnoses

The last few years have witnessed a tremendous shift in the use of capillary electrophoresis for clinical applications, particularly with DNA analysis. As a result of the large number of DNA-based clinical assays, there is an intense interest in making DNA analysis faster, less expensive and more automated. We describe the evaluation of CE-based single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and dideoxy fingerprinting (ddF) analysis for the detection of single-point mutations within a Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific amplified DNA fragment. Both were found to be capable of detecting the mutation in the resistant isolate but ddF showed the most promise with respect to specificity and ease of implementation. In addition, initial results with a CE-based sizing method is shown to be competitive and, perhaps, superior to a Southern blot analysis for the detection of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection.