phosphothioated DNA molecular beacon

PS-DNA-MB is a phosphorothioate-modified DNA molecular beacon designed for the early detection of gastrointestinal malignancies by targeting specific K-ras oncogene mutations. Molecular beacons are hairpin-shaped oligonucleotide probes that become fluorescent upon hybridization with a complementary target sequence. The phosphorothioate (PS) modification involves replacing a non-bridging oxygen atom in the phosphate backbone with a sulfur atom, which enhances resistance to nuclease degradation. In research settings, PS-DNA-MB has been evaluated for its ability to detect the codon 12 K-ras mutation (GGT→GAT) in various cell lines, although it has shown slower hybridization kinetics and lower specificity in complex RNA environments compared to peptide nucleic acid (PNA) based probes.

Other names

phosphorothioate DNA molecular beacon