Hybrid Capture (R): A sensitive signal amplification-based chemiluminescent test for the detection and quantitation of human viral and bacterial pathogens

Signal amplification coupled with a dioxetane chemiluminescent substrate pr ovides a highly sensitive assay system that has been applied to the detecti on and quantitation of viral and bacterial nucleic acids. Hybrid Capture(R) is a universal nucleic acid detection technology that utilizes long genomi c probes and antibodies specific for RNA:DNA hybrids to achieve a high leve l of signal amplification by virtue of the fact that each copy of target ca n bind hundreds or thousands of enzyme labels, The enzyme labels produce ch emiluminescence by the dephosphorylation of dioxetane-based substrates. Hyb rid Capture signal amplification assays for the detection of human papillom avirus, cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, hepa titis B virus, and human immunodeficiency virus have been developed and dem onstrate performance comparable to target amplified methods while providing improved sample handling and a simpler assay format.