Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as a Reliable Technique for Diagnosis of Microbial Infections

Rapid detection of pathogens and on-time treatment decrease the mortality and morbidity of the infections. Therefore, one method that can diagnose the infection faster and more accurate is desirable. Although there are several microbiologic, immunologic and molecular methods for diagnosis of bacterial infections like gram staining and culture, all the techniques have several drawbacks. Due to cross-reactivity, inability to recognize low concentration of antigen in clinical samples and low sensitivity, immunological methods are not satisfactory. New technologies such as DNA or protein microarray, gas- liquid chromatography, MOLDI-TOF are not applicable in routine diagnostic laboratories due to the high cost of the instruments and requirement to skilled personnel. Gene amplification methods, like Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Real-Time PCR, are developed to diagnose all kinds of bacterial infections without requiring to culture. These methods are very sensitive and specific and have been widely used in clinical settings. However, PCR requires expensive instrument and experienced technician and is time- consuming (nearly two hour per reaction)An alternative method for gene amplification, the Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assay has the potential to overcome the limitations of PCR In 2000, Notomi and colleagues invented the LAMP method for amplification of target DNA to 1010 copies in less than one hour in high-temperature conditions (65 ° C) with high specificity and sensitivity. Hereby, We present the diagnostic accuracy of LAMP for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori , Streptococcus pneumonia, Neisseria meingitidis, MRSA in non clinical samples.