Molecular beacon 4581251 195272880 2008-03-02T05:59:29Z Ytrottier 287953 Fixing [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages with links|links to disambiguation pages]] using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] '''Molecular beacons''' are [[oligonucleotide]] [[hybridization probe]]s that can report the presence of specific [[nucleic acid]]s in homogenous solutions. The terms more often used is '''molecular beacon probes'''. Molecular beacons are [[hairpin]] shaped molecules with an internally [[quenched]] [[fluorophore]] whose [[fluorescence]] is restored when they bind to a target nucleic acid sequence. This is a novel non[[radioactive]] method for detecting specific sequences of nucleic acids. They are useful in situations where it is either not possible or desirable to isolate the probe-target hybrids from an excess of the hybridization probes. ==Molecular Beacon Probes== A typical molecular beacon probe is 25 [[nucleotides]] long. The middle 15 nucleotides are complementary to the target [[DNA]] and do not base pair with one another, and the five nucleotides at each end are complementary to each other and not to the target DNA. ==References== # [http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2000/palma/beacons.html Jon Palma's] # [http://www.genelink.com/newsite/products/mbintro.asp Gene Link] # [http://www.molecular-beacons.org/ Molecular Beacon] [[Category:Biochemistry methods]] [[Category:Fluorescence]]