abstract |
PNA probes for detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. Specific peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes for detecting a sexual transmitted disease caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis comprising N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine units in amide linkage with the glycine nitrogen connected to naturally occurring nucleobases or non-naturally occurring nucleobases by a methylene carbonyl linker and said probes capable of hybridizing to 16S or 23S rRNA or rDNA of Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis are described. PNA is a very stable molecule with very high affinity for nucleic acid allowing a PNA probe to be shorter than conventional nucleic acid probes. |