Patent ID: 9714447
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: C12Q

Claim:
1. A method of assessing amplification of nucleic acids comprising: providing a lateral flow strip comprising a porous substrate and comprising a plurality of amplification reagents distributed throughout the body of the porous substrate, wherein the amplification reagents comprise nucleotides, one or more nucleic acid primers for a nucleic acid sequence of interest, and amplification enzymes; applying a sample having the nucleic acid sequence of interest to a predetermined initial location on the lateral flow strip at an initial time; allowing the sample to react with the amplification reagents in the lateral flow strip at the initial location for a predetermined duration of time to generate amplification products of the nucleic acid sequence of interest, wherein amplification products comprise one or more detectable moieties configured to provide a visible signal on the lateral flow strip when the amplification products are generated during amplification and wherein the amplification products and the visible signal move outwards on the lateral flow strip from the initial location during amplification; determining a distance between a farthest location relative to the predetermined initial location of the visible signal on the lateral flow strip at an end of the predetermined duration of time, wherein the farthest location is spaced apart from the initial location by the distance; and determining a starting copy number of the nucleic acid sequence of interest in the sample using a plot or table showing a relationship between a plurality of farthest distances and a corresponding plurality of control samples having known copy numbers of the nucleic acid sequence of interest.