The ability to quickly diagnose infectious diseases such as Ebola in the field is crucial for mounting an effective response during an epidemic. PCR and RT-PCR are fast and sensitive methods of diagnosis, but often involve large and complicated equipment, making them difficult to perform in remote locations. In a recent issue of Analytical Chemistry, Ahrberg and colleagues report the usage of EvaGreen® dye from Biotium to perform real-time PCR in a small, handheld device. Using their device, they were able to measure Ebola RNA transcript levels in just 37 minutes.
To read the original article, click here.
Ahrberg CD, Manz A, Neužil P. Palm-Sized Device for Point-of-Care Ebola Detection. Anal. Chem., 2016, 88 (9), pp 4803–4807. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b00278
To learn more about the many uses of EvaGreen® Dye in PCR and other applications, click here.