Detection of SNP by the isothermal smart amplification method.

The complexity of molecular diagnostic assays is a significant barrier to employment in point-of-care diagnostics, despite the growing need for such technologies. We have developed a sensitive, accurate, rapid, and simple DNA amplification scheme that shows potential for translational medicine from pharmacogenomics-based drug discovery through to point-of-care diagnostics. Called the "Smart Amplification process 2" (SmartAmp 2), the method is isothermal, and employs a unique primer design and background suppression technology that can amplify target sequences from crude cell lysates. The specificity of the SmartAmp 2 assay enables detection of single-nucleotide differences such as somatic mutations in tumors and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants. Because mismatch amplification can be completely suppressed in SmartAmp 2, a reliable diagnostic result can be achieved based exclusively on amplification alone. Furthermore, mutation detection and SNP genotypes can be obtained in as little as 30-40 min from sample preparation of raw blood or tissue specimens.