Application of PCR to multiplexing assays is not trivial; it requires multiple fluorescent labels for amplicon detection and sophisticated software for data interpretation. Alternative PCR-free methods exploiting new concepts in nanotechnology exhibit high sensitivities but require multiple labeling and/or amplification steps. Here, we propose to simplify the problem of simultaneous analysis of multiple targets in genetic assays by detecting directly the conformation, rather than mass, of target amplicons produced in the same PCR reaction. The new methodology exploits acoustic wave devices which are shown to be able to characterize in a fully quantitative manner multiple double stranded DNAs of various lengths. The generic nature of the combined acoustic/PCR platform is shown using real samples and, specifically, during the detection of SNP genotyping in Anopheles gambiae and gene expression quantification in treated mice. The method possesses significant advantages to TaqMan assay and real-time PCR regarding multiplexing capability, speed, simplicity and cost.

Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (Xfp) infects olive trees and other hosts in Southern Apulia (Italy), devastating agriculture and landscape. A containment strategy of the disease requires quick and sensitive detection tools. Therefore, a colorimetric LAMP protocol was developed using as a template a crude alkaline sap obtained from incubation of 50–60 mg of thin slices of olive twigs in a NaOH-containing buffer. This rapid molecular assay can be performed directly in the field, as it needs only a portable isothermal block. Tissues of the same olive trees analysed by this technique were also compared to qPCR (using purified total plant DNA as template) as well as digital droplet PCR (on the same crude alkaline extracts used in cLAMP). A titration of the cLAMP reaction with healthy olive sap, spiked with dilutions of in vitro cultivated Xfp cells and plasmid DNA containing the target sequence, gave positive detection results as low as 10² CFU/mL and up to 169.2 target copies/µL, equivalent to about 0.9 pg of the genomic DNA. A portable, sensitive and target-specific Xfp field test was developed, which has a 40 min sample-to-answer time and does not require any DNA isolation procedure or laboratory equipment. The application of this detection assay could help the monitoring and containment of the disease spread.

Screening for mutations in the tumor-suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 is of great importance for breast and ovarian cancer prevention. We describe a methodology for mutation screening and detection based on acoustic wave devices. In particular, we detect four mutations located in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes using the quartz crystal microbalance technique. The detection is based on measurements of the acoustic ratio of dissipation versus frequency change (ΔD/ΔF) of double-stranded DNA molecules bound to the device surface that are produced after PCR amplification and restriction digestion; the acoustic ratio has been shown to be a measure of the intrinsic viscosity of the attached molecules, which, in turn, depends on the size of the dsDNAs. Novel features of this approach are the lack of a hybridization step, the label free sensing of the length, rather than mass, of the DNA molecules and the direct detection of the digested DNA products without prior purification. The method is generic, simple and capable of detecting single base mutations to long genomic rearrangements; it is also suitable and applicable to a Lab-on-a-chip concept.

The present study demonstrates the sensitive and label-free acoustic detection of dsDNA amplicons produced from whole Salmonella Thyphimurium cells without employing any DNA extraction and/or purification step, in the presence of the lysed bacterial cells and in a hybridization-free assay. A sample-to-answer assay is also shown during DNA detection directly in milk.