Polymethacrylate Sphere-Based Assay for Ultrasensitive miRNA Detection

Table 2

Comparison of the current method with the commercial technologies for miRNA detection.

Platform	Time (min)	Complexity	Accessibility	Specificity	Sensitivity	LOD	References
Gel electrophoresis assays	∼280	Moderately complex depending on the assay type	Highly accessible in regular laboratory setups	Standard procedure may induce a chance for nonspecific binding; DNA fragments of interest must be gel-purified and verified to avoid nonspecific bindings	Not suitable for detecting low concentrations	Depends on the assay type (picomolar rage)	[80, 81]
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)	∼35	Complex, expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive	Not amenable to many laboratory setups	Highly specific	Accuracy can be compromised by contamination causing amplification of spurious DNA products	Femtomolar range	[65]
Real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR/qRT-PCR)	∼120	Primer design, normalization, and optimization techniques are complex	Involves challenging and individualized processes		High-throughput quantification of miRNAs is error prone		[65, 82]
Polymethacrylate sphere-based assay	∼240	Simple and straightforward	Highly accessible in regular laboratory setups	Moderately specific	Highly sensitive	Picomolar range	Current study