Digital Nucleic Acid Signal Amplification Platform for Highly Sensitive DNA Mutation Analysis.

Digital nucleic acid analysis technology has shown great application potential due to its excellent performance. However, most current digital nucleic acid detection methods are based on PCR or other template amplification strategies. Here, we present an alternative analysis platform based on digital nucleic acid signal amplification in droplets termed dNASA. Using a bead-based controllable extension bridged cascade signal amplification reaction, we achieved an ultralow background, high efficiency, and highly specific nucleic acid signal amplification analysis. As a "proof of concept", we demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed dNASA platform in single-base DNA mutation analysis using artificially synthesized samples. This platform provides innovative ideas for the field of digital nucleic acid analysis.