Method for preventing amplification of nucleic acid contaminants in amplification mixtures using nuclease-receptor conjugates

摘要

Methods and kits are disclosed for preventing amplification of contaminating copies of nucleic acids during in amplification of a nucleic acid suspected of being present in a sample. Modified nucleotides that render copies of the nucleic acid bindable by a member of a specific binding pair, such as a receptor, which does not bind to the nucleic acid, are incorporated into copies of the nucleic acid that are produced during the amplification. The sample is combined with an enzyme conjugate, usually a receptor bound to a nuclease, under conditions wherein prior to the amplification the member of a specific binding pair binds to the copies and the enzyme degrades the copies but not the nucleic acid. The methods and kits have particular application to the determination of a nucleic acid analyte.