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LATE (Linear-After-The-Exponential)-PCR, is an advanced form of asymmetric PCR developed by the Lawrence Wangh Laboratory at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. In 2005, Smiths entered into an exclusive license agreement with Brandeis University for LATE-PCR and related technologies.. The agreement included a co-development of LATE-PCR funded by Smiths resulting in a number of further patented technologies that incorporate LATE-PCR, all of which are exclusively licenced to Smiths.

The basic principle of LATE-PCR involves the amplification of only one side of a DNA duplex, resulting in a high proportion of single strandeded DNA, which allows probing over a much wider temperature range (and thus a greater degree of mutlpiexing) than is possible with symmetric PCR.

The use of single stranded DNA amplicons provides a number of other advantages:
• Separation of Annealing and Detection (faster thermocycling)
• Larger Detection “Temperature Space” (more multiplexed assays)
• Easier to Design Low-Tm Probes (more multiplexing and faster thermocycling)
• Substantial Increase in Allele Discrimination (better integrity of amplification)
• Substantial Decrease in Background Fluorescence (better sensitivity)
• Probe/Target Saturation - Higher Signal, no Inhibition of Amplification (faster thermocycling and better sensitivity)
• Linear Kinetics with little scatter among replicates providing Quantitative Endpoint Analysis 

LATE-PCR reduces mispriming while maintaining amplification efficiency.

LATE-PCR is further enhanced by additional technologies that improve sample preparation, suppress amplification errors, improve probe design for rapid high-resolution analysis of the amplified product, make multiplexing easier, allow for rapid DNA sequencing, and enhances data analysis.

To learn more about LATE-PCR and the Wangh Laboratory and Brandeis University please visit http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/wanghlab/

Selected Publications
John E Rice, J Aquiles Sanchez, Kenneth E Pierce, Arthur H Reis Jr. Adam Osborne & Lawrence Wangh (2007) Monoplex/multiplex linear-after-the-exponential-PCR assays combined with PrimeSafe and Dilute-'N'-Go sequencing. Nature Protocols, 2(10):2429-2438.

Pierce, K.E., Sanchez, J.A., Rice, J.E., and Wangh, L.J. (2005) Linear-After-The-Exponential (LATE)-PCR: Primer design criteria for high yields of specific single-stranded DNA and improved real-time detection, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 102:8609-8614.

Sanchez, J.A., Pierce, K.E., Rice, J.E., and Wangh, L.J. (2004) Linear-After-The-Exponential (LATE)-PCR: An advanced method of asymmetric PCR and its uses in quantitative real-time analysis, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 101(7):1933-1938.

The following chart illustrates how LATE-PCR works.