Specificity by Design

Invader chemistry achieves superior specificity by combining sequence identification with enzyme structure recognition, providing the ability to discriminate single-base changes, important with highly homologous strains of infectious agents. The key to the assay's specificity is the strict requirement for an invasive structure. If the sequence at the cleavage site is not complementary to the intended target, an invasive structure does not form, and the 5'-flap is not released for detection in the secondary reaction.¹