Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a useful technique for in vitro amplification of a DNA fragment. In this paper, a PCR procedure using Au nanoparticle (AuNP) -bound primers was systemically studied. The 5′-SH- (CH2)6-modified primers were covalently attached to the AuNP surface via Au-S bonds, and plasmid pBluescript SK was used as a template. The effects of the concentration of AuNP-bound primers, annealing temperature and PCR cy-cles were evaluated, respectively. The results indicate that PCR can proceed successfully under optimized condition, with either forward or reverse primers bound to the AuNP surface or with both the two primers bound to the AuNP surface. Development of PCR procedure based on AuNPs not only makes the isolation of PCR products very convenient, but also provides novel methods to prepare AuNP-bound ssDNA and nanostructured material.
