| abstract |
A method of amplifying a nucleic acid is provided which comprises: generating a first nucleic acid primer from a first nucleic acid sequence; combining the first nucleic acid primer with a first polymerase and a first circular nucleic acid probe, wherein the first circular nucleic acid probe contains at least one antisense sequence to a second nucleic acid sequence and at least one antisense sequence to the first nucleic acid primer; producing at least one repeat of a sequence copy of the first circular nucleic acid probe by rolling circle amplification using the first polymerase, wherein the sequence copy contains at least the second nucleic acid sequence; generating a second nucleic acid primer from the second nucleic acid sequence; combining the second nucleic acid primer with a second polymerase and a second circular nucleic acid probe, where the second circular nucleic acid probe contains at least one antisense sequence to the second nucleic acid primer; and producing at least one repeat of a sequence copy of the second circular nucleic acid probe by rolling circle amplification using the second polymerase. The method may be employed to detect molecules of interest such as nucleic acid sequences, DNA methylation, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), proteins and posttranslational modifications. Furthermore, a ribbon probe is provided that comprises a circular nucleic acid probe and a nucleic acid lock probe, wherein: the nucleic acid lock probe contains at least a cleavable linker, and the circular nucleic acid probe and the lock probe are unable to dissociate without cleaving the cleavable linker. |