Detection of DNA and RNA in Cell and Tissue Samples Using Rolling Circle Amplification

Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is a method of isothermal amplification of circular DNA templates. This enzymatic process of primer extension combined with DNA strand displacement generates a long single -stranded DNA containing a repeated sequence complementary to the circular DNA template. When the long ssDNA product of RCA is decorated by hybridization to many complementary oligonucleotides labeled with a fluorescent molecule, the resulting RCA product is a single molecule with a strong signal that is labeled with multiple fluorescent molecules. The RCA reaction is currently used to enhance the signal of an analyte when detecting DNA or RNA in tissue or cell samples. DNA sequencing can be achieved directly in a section of fixed tissue or cell sample. This review describes the development of RCA -based methods for DNA and RNA detection in cells and tissues over the past decade.