Technology background
Isothermal amplification and LAMP
Last updated: August 2026
What is isothermal amplification?
Molecular detection is built on nucleic acid amplification: multiplying the target DNA (or RNA) present in a sample until it becomes detectable. The most widespread method, PCR, achieves this through thermal cycling, which requires a precise and relatively complex instrument, a thermocycler.
Isothermal amplification methods, by contrast, run at a single constant temperature. No heating-cooling cycles are needed, so the instrument can be simpler, more compact and more energy efficient. That opens the door to on-site use outside the laboratory.
How does LAMP work?
LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) is one of the most widely used isothermal methods. The reaction typically runs at a constant temperature around 60–65 °C and relies on a DNA polymerase with strand-displacement activity.
The method uses multiple primers, typically four to six, that recognize six to eight regions of the target sequence. This design provides high specificity, and the reaction is very efficient: it produces large amounts of amplification product in a short time, which can be detected in several ways, including as a simple optical signal.
Why is it well suited to the field?
Because the temperature is constant, no thermocycler is needed; heating can be simple, stable and low-power. LAMP is also fast: results typically arrive in minutes rather than hours. It is also often less sensitive than PCR to inhibitors found in crude samples.
Together, these properties make LAMP especially suitable for applications where a result is needed within a short time, directly at the point of sampling.
How does Draupnir build on this?
One of the foundations of the Draupnir development is unlocking the potential of LAMP on an integrated platform designed around use outside the laboratory: compact design, an intuitive user interface, automated evaluation and access to raw data in a single device.
Draupnir is currently under development; the communicated parameters are target values of the planned system. If you would like to know more about the technology, get in touch with us.