OLIGONUCLEOTIDE AND DNA DE-HYBRIDIZATION ON SURFACES

摘要

Double stranded nucleic acids or oligonucleotides attached to a surface and resulting from gene probe testing, i.e. consisting essentially o f a probe strand and a test strand hybridized thereto, are denatured by treatmen t with an enzyme which is selective for digestion of one of the strands of double stranded DNA in either the 5'-3' direction or the 3'-5' direction. Since one of the ends of the probe strand is blocked, e.g. by chemical blocking or detection groups or by attachment to an immobilizing support, the reverse end of the test strand hybridized thereto is free, and an enzyme specific for digestion of D NA in the direction starting from the free end of the test strand will digest t he test strand but leave the probe strand intact, and still blocked or attached to t he immobilization support. As a result, a probe with the original probe strand is restored, for re-use in another probe-test detection.