New advances in DNA technology at CWRU promise to revolutionize genetic testing
The method rapidly and accurately amplifies very small amounts of DNA, into samples large enough to be used in conventional medical testing, making identification possible with samples that would have otherwise returned poor, or no results. Case Western Reserve University researchers have developed a new method of DNA testing that could significantly expand its uses in medical research. The method rapidly and accurately amplifies very small amounts of DNA into samples large enough to be used in conventional medical testing, making identification possible with samples that would otherwise result in poor or no results. The new method, AMPLON (Amplifying DNA with Multiarm Priming and Looping Optimization of Nucleic Acid), is 50% faster and 1,000 times more sensitive than what is currently available. It could potentially bring personalized, at-home DNA diagnostic tests within reach of consumers. The research was published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Publicerad : 10 månader sedan förbi Gretchen Cuda Kroen, gkroen, Gretchen Cuda Kroen | [email protected] i Health
CLEVELAND, Ohio—Case Western Reserve University researchers have developed a new method of DNA testing—one they say could greatly expand its uses in medical research.
The method rapidly and accurately amplifies very small amounts of DNA into samples large enough to be used in conventional medical testing, making identification possible with samples that would have otherwise returned poor, or no results.
The ability to accurately identify the presence of a minuscule amount of DNA in a sample — whether taken from a throat swab in an attempt to identify a disease-causing virus, from a crime scene in an attempt to identify a criminal, or in a research setting where scientists are studying the progression of an illness — depends on the technology that allows researchers to make a lot of DNA from a very small amount, and to do it quickly, without making errors.
This process is known as polymerase chain reaction or PCR, and over the last several decades, the technology it requires has evolved from large, expensive laboratory machinery to significantly smaller, inexpensive equipment.
This has resulted in making modern DNA testing more readily accessible and affordable to anyone who needs it. However, it is still frequently limited either by time or error. Results are either obtained very slowly and accurately, or quickly, but with a large number of errors - but not both.
But the researchers at CWRU have created a new and novel method they say is the holy grail of DNA testing: one that is both fast and accurate, even when using complex DNA sequences.
This new technique, known as AMPLON (Amplifying DNA with Multiarm Priming and Looping Optimization of Nucleic Acid), offers an alternative to the previously accepted “gold-standard” of PCR, opening the opportunity for more applications in medical diagnosis.
“The current method has a lot of limitations, but this method is more accurate and more sensitive,” said Mohamed S. Draz, assistant professor at the CWRU School of Medicine and the study’s principal investigator.
“If you have good amplification, you can have very good diagnostics for COVID, for HIV, TB, tick- borne diseases, viruses, bacteria, cancer, for rare diseases, for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s —all of these things are impacted by how good we are at amplifying DNA.”
Instead of making a linear copy of the DNA starting at a single point, the new method finds multiple points of attachment to the DNA and begins making copies simultaneously. The enzyme machinery that makes the copies is capable of working very quickly, and so when only one attachment point is available, it hops frequently from one DNA strand to another, and in doing so often makes mistakes, explained Draz.
This new method eliminates the need for the amplification machinery to search for new amplification targets, improving both its speed and accuracy at the same time.
The team’s findings were recently published in the journal Advanced Materials.
The new technology, Draz said, is 50% faster and 1,000 times more sensitive than what is currently on the market and could easily be adapted by companies already doing DNA amplification without any significant investment in new equipment. These characteristics, Draz said, could finally bring personalized, at-home DNA diagnostic tests within reach of consumers.
“AMPLON has the potential to positively change the way molecular analysis and clinical diagnostics are performed,” said Draz. “From infectious-disease diagnostics to personalized medicine and environmental monitoring.... it can provide a portable, reliable and cost-effective solution for applications, ranging from point-of-care diagnostics to field-based research.”