Circular strand displacement polymerization reaction: a promising technique?

“This nucleic acid isothermal amplification technology ... should be used to expand the field of point-of-care diagnostic applications making them more accessible and affordable for the masses without the need for complicated devices and highly qualified personnel.” As a leading method in detecting trace amount of nucleic acids, PCR has acted as an outstanding method for target amplification that offers high specificity and sensitivity. However, the need for a thermocycling apparatus has hindered its application in point-of-care (POC) diagnosis. Various nucleic acid isothermal amplification techniques based on new discoveries in DNA/RNA synthesis and auxiliary proteins or aptamers have demonstrated the...