Highly sensitive mutation detection based on digital amplification coupled with hydrogel bead-array

Abstract

In order to detect small amounts of mutants for early cancer diagnosis, we have developed the novel method of using amplicon-coated microbeads and single-molecule-PCR in water-in-oil emulsions, which we coupled with a new detection platform, the hydrogel bead-array, a 3-D polyacrylamidegel network used as a carrier to immobilize the beads.