Brief Description: The present technology relates to hybridization-based biosensors containing hairpin probes and their use in identifying target nucleic acids in samples.
Applications: This label-free microarray will be used as a rapid genetic analysis tool for understanding biological processes. It has immediate applications in medical diagnostics, biosensors, genome analysis, etc.
Advantages: Recent intense interest in the use of rapid genetic analysis as a tool for understanding biological processes, in unlocking the underlying molecular causes of disease, and in the development of biosensors, has led to a need for new sensitive and arrayable chip-based analytical tools. Of high importance is the need for techniques that do not require labeling of the target sample, since that increases time, cost, and potential for error inherent in the analysis. The label-free biosensor discussed herein presents a more efficient, sensitive and cost effective way to identify and study target nucleic acids in samples. Most notably, this novel approach uses the substrate itself as the quenching agent, which significantly decreases the complexity of the synthetic DNA probe hairpin, by eliminating the need for a separate quencher.