Molecular kits using LAMP technology: fast, easy, sensitive and specific

Molecular diagnostics have evolved in recent years as an alternative to traditional diagnostic methods such as virus/bacteria culture, microscopy, histopathology-based techniques (ie immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation), biochemical, phenotypic or serological analysis. These molecular methods are based on the amplification of a region of the target nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) and are becoming increasingly popular with end-users due to their faster results, easy set-up, sensitivity and specificity.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is considered the molecular diagnostic gold standard and has been used in a wide range of applications for the detection of infectious pathogens. Results obtained can be classified as qualitative (end-point PCR) and quantitative (real-time PCR). The PCR methodology is based on thermal cycling conditions, with different temperatures and incubation times, allowing the differentiation of different stages in a reaction: initial denaturation, cycles of denaturation, annealing and elongation, followed by a final extension. Generally, the different reagents in a PCR reaction are combined with a DNA polymerase, two primers and the target nucleic acid, allowing the amplification of the target nucleic acid with high sensitivity and specificity.

However, there are several disadvantages related to its implementation in laboratories with limited resources, such as the high costs (for equipment and reagents) associated with these methods, the need for highly skilled and trained personnel, and the susceptibility to inhibitors commonly present in clinical samples, or low-quality nucleic acid samples.