Sensitivity enhancement of nucleic acid detection by lateral flow strip test using UV crosslink method

Background: Nucleic acid lateral flow (NALF) strip test is currently a promising method in biomedical applications for point-of-care DNA detection. However, sensitivity of NALF is a major limitation when tested without amplification of the DNA sample. Objective: This study introduces UV crosslink as an additional step to enhance sensitivity of the test strip. Methods: By applying UV exposure to the NALF platform with different irradiation energies and times, specificity test with target DNA and non-target DNA. Results: the results revealed increasing signals of approximately 40% from all test strips compared to those without UV exposure. Furthermore, the sensitivity enhancement by UV crosslink of NALF dipstick has been shown to be independent from DNA sequences, hybridization specificity and target DNA length. Conclusion: Data presents a new step to improve the sensitivity of NALF assay. It allows immediate visualization and quantification. There may be a potential application in other NALF platform products.