Heating mechanism for DNA amplification, extraction or sterilization using photo-thermal nanoparticles

A method of amplifying a nucleic acid molecule with a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) through bulk heating a biological enzymatic reaction mixture in solution containing

• a nucleic acid template,
• a polymerase enzyme,
• first chemically modified nanoparticles comprising nanorods of metal, metallic coated organic nanotubes, or a combination thereof, having photo-thermal properties, to release heat and promote said LAMP, and
• a second set of nanoparticles having an absorption feature spectrally separate from said photo-thermal properties of said first chemically modified nanoparticles,
• comprising the steps of:
• a) irradiating said first chemically modified nanoparticles with an activation light beam from a continuous wave laser to provide excitation for a period of time to activate said photo-thermal properties of said first chemically modified nanoparticles, such that said first chemically modified nanoparticles release heat sufficient to provide said heating to the whole reaction mixture in solution and promote said LAMP, and
• b) monitoring said bulk heating, amplicon production, or both, by probing said second set of nanoparticles with a probing light beam having a wavelength different than a wavelength of the activation light beam and coordinated with said absorption feature.