Magnetic induction spectroscopy (MIS) as potential non-contact label-free technique for DNA amplification follow-up.

Abstract

Gene amplification and detection techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or quantitative PCR (qPCR) require the use of fluorescent reagents and probes or dyes. Both PCR and qPCR must be performed by trained personnel. The aim of this work was to assess the potential use of magnetic induction spectroscopy (MIS) as a non-contact, label-free and easy-to-use technique to detect gene amplification in final PCR products. We extracted Deoxyribonucleic Acids (DNA) from samples of mouse tissue and processed it for gene amplification through PCR. We considered six different biological samples for the exploration of four genotypes and their corresponding blank controls. In every sample, we carried out MIS measurements in two stages (before and after PCR) in the range of 0.073 to 1.125 MHz and compared the differences. The results indicate a MIS magnitude differential pattern in the range of 500 to 650 kHz, which warrants the potential use of the MIS technique for the development of a fully contactless, label-free biosensor and capable of detecting DNA directly from PCR products.