Electricity Free LAMP: A Protocol for Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Using an Exothermic Chemical Reaction and Lyophilized Reagents
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) offers a promising alternative to PCR for low-resource settings, but practical barriers remain. For example there is often the need for reliable electricity, precision heating equipment, and cold-chain storage of reagents. Here, we describe a rudimentary but functional platform that integrates (i) a non-electric, chemically driven water bath capable of sustaining LAMP-relevant temperatures and (ii) lyophilized LAMP assays compatible with simple sample inputs such as diluted saliva or oral rinse. We demonstrate successful LAMP amplification under multiple heating configurations, including a thermos-based chemical bath and field-mimicking setups. This work provides proof-of-concept for a low-cost, portable molecular diagnostic workflow that minimizes infrastructure requirements while maintaining analytical performance.
Source: medRxiv
Authors: Krishna K Grandhe, Timothy E Riedel
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225656649