In this Mol Bio Minutes mini-episode, Laurynas Alijošius shares how Rolling Circle Amplification (RCA) provides a reliable, high-yield approach for amplifying circular DNA prior to next-generation sequencing (NGS). This isothermal method avoids the need for thermal cycling and even bypasses the need for specific primers—making it ideal for challenging viral genomes, rare targets, or field samples.

Powered by the strand-displacing phi29 DNA polymerase, RCA amplifies DNA with impressive sensitivity and minimal GC bias. Laurynas breaks down the steps of multiple displacement amplification (MDA), explains why exonuclease-resistant primers are important, and explores how engineered polymerases like EquiPhi29™ DNA Polymerase dramatically improve yield and reduce reaction times. RCA products can be cleaned up and debranched to support a range of downstream workflows, including nanopore sequencing and transcriptomics.

From single-cell genomics to phage-based applications and in vitro expression systems, RCA is more than just a pre-NGS step; it’s a versatile tool with broad utility. Whether you're stabilizing viral RNA or tackling ultra-low-input samples, RCA and whole genome amplification offer new flexibility for today’s demanding sequencing workflows.

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Visit the Invitrogen School of Molecular Biology to access helpful molecular biology resources and educational content, and please share this resource with anyone you know working in molecular biology.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Applyo Jena is building a freeze-dried future, one bead at a time. In this episode, Dr. Hanno Hermann and Dr. Thanh Tu Hellmich-Duong walk us through how their lyo-bead technology emerged from the challenges of field-based HIV diagnostics and evolved into a flexible platform that stabilizes everything from enzymes to magnetic nanoparticles, without the need for refrigeration.

From diagnostics research to therapeutics, this lyophilization platform is solving key pain points in reagent formulation, shipping, and field use. Hanno and Thanh Tu explain how lyo-beads offer precise, single-use reagent doses with near-instantaneous rehydration, minimal batch-to-batch variability, and extended ambient temperature stability. Whether it's for isothermal RT-LAMP, next-gen sequencing prep, or phage-based application, Applyo’s platform unlocks new formats, simplifies logistics, and lowers the environmental burden of molecular workflows.

With new hires, new markets, and new product lines on the horizon, Applyo Jena is poised for a decade of growth and maybe even a hand in reshaping the way freeze-dried pharmaceuticals are developed and delivered.

Subscribe to get future episodes as they drop and if you like what you’re hearing we hope you’ll share a review or recommend the series to a colleague. 

Visit the Invitrogen School of Molecular Biology to access helpful molecular biology resources and educational content, and please share this resource with anyone you know working in molecular biology.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

In this Mol Bio Minutes episode, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Monika Jazdauskaitė dives into the versatile world of Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA). Unlike PCR, RPA operates at a constant, low temperature (around 37–42°C), enabling fast, equipment-light workflows that are ideal for field diagnostics and decentralized labs. Monika explains how the method works and why RPA is emerging as a go-to technique for both DNA and RNA target detection.

She highlights RPA’s specificity, sensitivity, and robustness against common inhibitors like ethanol and heparin, critical for applications like respiratory pathogen detection or low-quality sample inputs. Plus, she shares how RPA’s gentle conditions and lyophilization compatibility make it a strong candidate for stabilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS) libraries, especially those with high GC content.

Whether you're looking to simplify pathogen detection or streamline your sequencing prep, RPA offers a compelling alternative to traditional amplification. And with ready-to-use kits like the Invitrogen™ Lyo-ready RPA Kit, Thermo Fisher is helping researchers bring speed and stability to molecular workflows, all with no thermal cycler required.

Subscribe to get future episodes as they drop and if you like what you’re hearing we hope you’ll share a review or recommend the series to a colleague. 

Visit the Invitrogen School of Molecular Biology to access helpful molecular biology resources and educational content, and please share this resource with anyone you know working in molecular biology.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.