The principle of solid phase DNA sequencing was described in 1989 based on binding of
biotinylated DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
to
streptavidin
Streptavidin is a 52 Atomic mass unit, kDa protein (tetramer) purified from the bacterium ''Streptomyces avidinii''. Streptavidin Homotetramer, homo-tetramers have an extraordinarily high affinity for biotin (also known as vitamin B7 or vitamin ...
-coated magnetic beads and
elution
In analytical and organic chemistry, elution is the process of extracting one material from another by washing with a solvent: washing of loaded ion-exchange resins to remove captured ions, or eluting proteins or other biopolymers from an el ...
of single DNA strands selectively using
alkali
In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...
. The method allowed robotic applications suitable for clinical sequencing, but the magnetic handling has also found frequent use in many molecular applications, including sample handling for DNA diagnostics.
The use of solid phase methods for DNA handling is now frequently used as an integrated part of many of the next generation
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The ...
methods, as well as numerous
molecular diagnostics
Molecular diagnostics is a collection of techniques used to analyze biological markers in the genome and proteome, and how their cells express their genes as proteins, applying molecular biology to medical tests, medical testing. In medicine th ...
applications.
References
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Biotechnology