Nucleic acids can be amplified by various technologies and the product can then be used in research or in diagnostics. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) dominates the nucleic acid amplification market. However, the requirement for thermocycling in PCR limits its application in certain areas, such as field-testing and point-of-care diagnostics.

BioHelix has developed an isothermal DNA amplification system that uses a helicase enzyme to unwind double stranded DNA (dsDNA), referred to as Helicase-Dependent Amplification. In HDA reactions, duplex DNA is separated into single strands by a helicase. Compared with the other techniques, this amplification method is closer to nature's method of performing DNA replication and it has the following advantages:

1. Low cost for instrumentation because use of helicase to separate DNA eliminates need for thermocycler.

2. Easy-to-use for assay development (using two primers).

3. Versatile platform: can amplify both DNA and RNA (with a reverse transcriptase) and is compatible with multiple detection technologies.

4. High sensitivity and specificity.

5. BioHelix has IP surrounding the HDA technology.

Current products based on the HDA technology: