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.