关键词： 分析仪器销售排行
生物谷报道：New England Biolabs的华人科学家Huimin Kong及其同事已经成功研制出一种新的DNA扩增方法，这种方法有望取代现有的PCR扩增DNA技术——PCR技术对医学诊断和基础研究的意义重大，但却只能局限在实验室中。即将在八月出版的EMBO中，Huimin Kong及其在New England Biolabs的同事描述了一种大量复制DNA的新方法，这种方法克服了之前的一些局限性。
这项新技术称作HAD（helicase-dependent amplification，解链酶复制法）。HAD和PCR一样简单，但却有明显的优势。PCR要求热循环系统来加热和冷却DNA样品，从而使其变性成单链、复制单链、从而合成新的双链DNA。而HAD则是模仿自然的DNA复制方法，即利用一种解链酶使DNA变性。因此，整个HAD反应能够在同一个温度下进行，从而起到优化合成并且不需要昂贵的、耗电的热循环器。
HAD能将DNA复制应用到一些之前因PCR的特定要求而无法使用的情况。这种复制方法的费用相对比较低，更重要的是由于HAD操作简便使它能用于开发便携式DNA诊断仪器方面。这种便携式诊断仪器可以用来定点检测或在整个领域检测病原物。
原文：
Scientists have developed a new method for DNA amplification that could replace the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a technique that is invaluable for both medical diagnostics and basic research but which is confined to the laboratory. In the August issue of EMBO reports, Huimin Kong and colleagues at New England Biolabs (Beverly, MA, USA) describe a way to copy mass amounts of DNA that overcomes some of the limitations of this earlier technique.
HDA (helicase-dependent amplification) is as simple as PCR, but has significant advantages. PCR requires thermocycling to heat and cool a sample of DNA, to allow denaturation (separating DNA into single strands) and synthesis (copying single strands to create new double-stranded DNA). HDA instead mimics nature's method of replicating DNA by using a helicase enzyme to denature the DNA. As a result, the entire HDA reaction can be performed at one temperature that is optimized for synthesis, eliminating the need for an expensive and power-hungry thermocycler.
HDA could expand the application of DNA amplification to situations in which the requirements for PCR have made it prohibitive. The costs are likely to be more modest and, most importantly, the simplicity of HDA makes it suitable for the development of hand-held DNA diagnostic devices that could be used to detect pathogens at the point-of-care or in the field.
