Loop mediated isothermal amplification: a novel detection for amplification of DNA and RNA

Disease diagnosis is of crucial importance in making appropriate therapeutic decisions. Conventionally, diagnosis was based on isolation and identification of the causative agent that was followed in timeline by the development of serological tests. Nowadays, molecular tests credited with high sensitivity like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and its variants are replacing the older diagnostic techniques. Major obstacle in adoption of PCR based technique is the need for thermocycler and isothermal amplification system like Loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test is a good alternative for it. LAMP, through its uniqueness has provided the world with a powerful molecular diagnostic tool. This innovative gene amplification technique, amplifies nucleic acid at a very rapid pace, maintaining high sensitivity, specificity and efficiency. The most innovative features of LAMP, is the simplicity of its protocol, and over all low cost of application. The standout features however, ranges from the strand displacement activity of the Bst and Bsm polymerase enzymes, to its ability to amplify gene in an unprocessed samples. The cheapness and user-friendliness of LAMP amongst other advantages made it an ideal diagnostic tool that provides solution to the odds of PCR and its likes, the outstanding qualities displayed by LAMP in various researches, have led to several modifications in the technique. Till date, LAMP tests have been developed for diagnosis of a large number of diseases including bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic diseases.