Nucleic acid hybridization-an alternative tool in diagnostic microbiology.

The use of radioimmunoossays (RIAs) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) has revolutionized diagnostic microbiology. Their high specificity and sensitivity make them versatile, they are simple to carry out either for direct detection of microorganisms in specimens or for serological diagnosis, and they can easily and reliably be standardized. Monoclonal antibodies have further improved these immunoassays. However, the development of simple and highly sensitive detection methods for nucleic acids has nevertheless promoted an interest also in diagnostic methods based on nucleic acid hybridization. Here Ulf Pettersson and Timo Hyypiä discuss methods which are likely to become a useful complement to the immunoassays in the near future.