Isolation of single-stranded DNA from loop-mediated isothermal amplification products

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), in which a specific DNA sequence can be directly amplified under isothermal conditions, yields DNA in large quantities of more than 500 mug/ml. We have developed a method to isolate single-stranded DNA fragments from LAMP products that are stem-loop DNAs with several inverted repeats of the target DNA. This method requires the TspRI restriction enzyme, a primer hybridized to the 3' overhanging sequence at its cleavage site, and a DNA polymerase with strand displacement activity. The LAMP products are digested with TspRI and are then extended using the primer, producing the strand-specific DNA fragments. All processes, from LAMP reaction to primer extension, can be carried out at the same temperature. The use of strand-specific DNA would be conducive for detection by hybridization technique such as DNA microarrays. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).