A HIGH-SENSITIVITY ELECTROCHEMILUMINESCENCE-BASED DETECTION SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED PCR PRODUCT QUANTITATION

A high-sensitivity nonisotopic system has been developed for post-PCR product detection. The probe-based detection system exploits a chemilu minescent reaction that takes place on the electrode surface in an ele ctrochemical cell. The detection system incorporates a biotin-streptav idin capture reaction onto a solid support that permits fast post-PCR product detection at the attomole level. The system precision is withi n 5% relative standard deviation over a linear dynamic range of greate r than three orders of magnitude. In this paper, the principles and fe atures of the electrochemiluminescent-based detection system, together with its application to PCR product quantitation, are described in de tail.