Shedding light on health and disease using molecular beacons

Briefings in Functional Genomics & Proteomics
Andrew Tsourkas, Gang Bao

Abstract

The detection and identification of pathogens is often painstaking due to the low abundance of diseased cells in clinical samples. The genomic sequences of the pathogen can be amplified through methods such as the polymerase chain reaction and nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, but the nucleic acid targets are often lost among other unintended products of amplification. Novel nucleic acid probes known as molecular beacons have been developed allowing for the rapid and specific detection of genetic markers of a disease. Molecular beacons are hairpin-forming oligonucleotides labelled at one end with a quencher and at the other end with a fluorescent reporter dye. In the absence of target, the fluorescence is quenched. In the presence of target, the hairpin structure opens upon beacon/target hybridisation, resulting in the restoration of fluorescence. The ability to transduce target recognition into a fluorescence signal with high signal-to-background ratio, coupled with an improved specificity, has allowed molecular beacons to enjoy a wide range of biological and biomedical applications. Here, we describe the basic features of molecular beacons, review their applications in disease detection and diagnosis and discuss some...Continue Reading

Citations

Apr 19, 2008·Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry·Karen MartinezWeihong Tan
Apr 6, 2006·Nucleic Acids Research·Angel A MartíNicholas J Turro
Dec 5, 2012·International Journal of Molecular Imaging·Cuichen Sam WuWeihong Tan
Mar 25, 2015·BioMed Research International·Divya SachdevDaman Saluja
Oct 14, 2004·Applied Spectroscopy·Timothy J Drake, Weihong Tan
Oct 5, 2006·Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences : Official Journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology·Xiaoxu LiJingyue Ju
Sep 26, 2007·Journal of Medical Microbiology·Sagarika HaldarJaya Sivaswami Tyagi
Feb 14, 2017·Nano Convergence·Oluwasesan Adegoke, Enoch Y Park
Jun 14, 2012·Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry·Erik D GuetschowJennifer R W Furchak
Apr 27, 2007·Accounts of Chemical Research·Angel A MartíNicholas J Turro

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