title: Visual DNA -- identification of DNA sequence variations by bead trapping.
abstract: In this paper we describe a method that uses the nearly covalent strength biotin-streptavidin interaction to attach a paramagnetic bead of micrometer size to a DNA molecule of nanometer size, scaling up the spatial size of a query DNA strand by a factor of 1000, making it visible to the human eye. The use of magnetic principles enables rapid binding and washing of detector beads, facilitating a readout of amplified DNA sequences in a few minutes. Here we exemplify the method on mitochondrial DNA variations using an array platform. Visual identification and documentation can be performed with an ordinary mobile phone equipped with a built-in camera.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gene Technology, School of Biotechnology, AlbaNova University Center, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Patrik L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Ståhl
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gantelius
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Natanaelsson
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmadian
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Andersson-Svahn
authors.forename: Joakim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lundeberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001710:Biotin; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008280:Magnetics; D008863:Microspheres; D036103:Nanotechnology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D019809:Streptavidin; D014584:User-Computer Interface
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D001710:Biotin; D004247:DNA; D019809:Streptavidin