Cyclic enzymatic amplification method (CEAM) based on exonuclease III for highly sensitive bioanalysis

Nucleic acid molecular probes (NAMPs) have been widely used in the sensing of various chemical and biological substances, as well as physical parameters. However, for traditional nucleic acid molecular probes, the stoichiometric 1:1 binding ratio limits the signal enhancement and thus the sensitivity of the assay. In order to overcome this problem, the cyclic enzymatic amplification method (CEAM) based on exonuclease III has been applied in optical and electrical detection of DNA, proteins and small molecules with excellent sensitivity, selectivity, versatility and simplicity. In this review, the working principle of CEAM is first introduced, followed by the applications of CEAM using different output signals for various analytes. Finally, experimental designs and procedures of CEAM are discussed in detail using displacing probes-based CEAM and linear molecular beacons (LMBs)-based CEAM as two examples.