Diagnostic value of real-time capillary thermal cycler in virus detection

Abstract

Molecular-based detection methods such as PCR techniques have had a significant impact on the diagnosis of viral infections because of their superior sensitivity and rapid turnaround time. This review describes the use of real-time PCR on the capillary thermal cycler, the Roche LightCycler™, for early disease detection in diagnostic virology. The advantages of using the LightCycler, the detection processes using SYBR^® Green I and different hybridization strategies will be discussed in detail, with specific examples drawn from our in-house viral assays. The use of the LightCycler for the investigation of two recent viral outbreaks in Singapore will also be briefly described.

• capillary thermal cycler
• FRET
• hybridization probes
• LightCycler™
• melting curve analysis
• real-time PCR
• SYBR®Green I
• TaqMan probes