Molecular Zipper Assays with Immunonanoprobes

Detection of viral load or antigens present in the body fluids is a desirable diagnostic or monitoring tool for many infectious diseases. For example, in case of HIV infection, Nucleic acid based quantitative PCR/ RTPCR assay could be used for measuring viral load to follow the course of therapy or infection. The key limitation of such assays is however the high cost of such complex assays. Additional well known problems of these assays include need for sample extraction, inhibitors, variability, complexity and sample contamination issues.