LGC BIOSEARCH Webinars
| Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP): Primer Design and Assay Optimization |
Abstract
Nucleic acid based detection assays hold great promise for improved speed and sensitivity for a variety of applications such as microorganism detection, disease diagnosis and more. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), an isothermal nucleic acid amplification method which is rapidly gaining popularity, provides assay developers with a fast and cost-effective alternative to PCR for nucleic acid detection. LAMP’s isothermal characteristics allow for the development of simple, robust, low cost assays that can be deployed for point-of-care, point-of-need or environmental testing. Although a developed LAMP assay provides robust detection capabilities, initial design and development can prove difficult due to the 4 (or 6 for the faster assays) primer requirement. The need for 6 primers targeting 8 regions of the genome, the distance requirements between the primers, and sequence variability among clinical isolates of a given species put significant constraints on primer design. Improper primer design or selection leads to suboptimal assays resulting in slow amplification, non-specific amplification, and poor sensitivity. This webinar will review the basic mechanics of LAMP and how it may be used as a diagnostic assay. We will look in-depth at primer design with a focus on the use of primer design software and how specific settings improve primer design success specifically with LavaLAMP™ Enzyme-based Kits. We will also discuss optimization techniques to get the most out of your assay design.
Key Learning Objectives
- Review the mechanics of LAMP
- Examine the primers required and their design
- Learn how adjust software setting for better primer design
- Demonstrate the effects of optimizing primer design on LAMP assay results
- Explore additional ways to optimize LAMP assays
Speaker
Tony Rockweiler
Diagnostic Research Scientist, Lucigen