An ultrafast and portable nucleic acid detection system based on photothermal PCR and real-time fluorescence detection

The nucleic acid detection technology based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is widely used in infectious disease detection due to its excellent sensitivity and specificity. However, the drawbacks of this method include bulky instrumentation in centralized laboratories and an assay time of 1-2 h. Here, we show a portable nucleic acid detection system, successfully performing ultrafast thermocycling and real-time fluorescence detection in a glass microtubule. By using plasmonic nanoparticles, the system can achieve 30 thermocycles in similar to 2.5 min. The nucleic acid detection efficiency of the system is comparable to that of the conventional thermocycler. The system correctly distinguished the positive and negative samples of the clinical hepatitis B virus (HBV). Overall, this study extends PCR technology to point-of-care use and provides ideas for developing new virus detection systems.

Automated summary

This study presents the development of a portable nucleic acid detection system that can achieve fast and efficient real-time detection, successfully distinguishing positive and negative samples of clinical hepatitis B virus. The system extends the application of PCR technology and provides ideas for developing new virus detection systems.