Nanoparticle PCR: Nanogold‐Assisted PCR with Enhanced Specificity

Nanogold may not glitter, but its presence significantly improves the specificity and yield of PCR reactions owing to the greater affinity of gold nanoparticles to single-stranded DNA than to double-stranded DNA which helps to reduce mispairing. Indeed, gel electrophoresis shows a single predominant band for the target DNA obtained by this method, in contrast to streaking bands for products obtained by conventional PCR (lanes 1 and 2; see image).