Fig. 12
From: Lack of specificity associated with using molecular beacons in loop mediated amplification assays
Molecular beacon structure and potential conformations. Molecular beacons are single stranded DNA oligonucleotides with a 3’ fluorophore and 5’ quencher. Hybridised arms ensure fluorescence is quenched in the absence of specific template to the probe sequence in the loop (a). In (b) the presence of a specific single stranded DNA sequence forms a more thermodynamically stable probe – template hybrid pulling the quencher away from the fluorophore and enabling fluorescence to be emitted. In (c) the molecular beacon is in ‘open’ formation which may be due to the assay temperature in equilibrium with the ‘closed’ form, or by interaction with LAMP amplification products