Table 1.

Comparison of RCA, PCR and real-time PCR for the detection of DNA.

Features	Conventional PCR Assay	Real Time-PCR Assay	RCA Assay
Sensitivity	Sensitive	Highly sensitive	Highly sensitive
Specificity	Specific	Specific	Specific
Temperature conditions	Thermal cycle	Thermal cycle	Isothermal
Inhibition by biological samples	Yes	Yes	No
Instruments required	Thermocycler	Thermocycler	Not required
Post-assay analysis	Required	Required	Generally not required
Amplicon detection methods	Gel electrophoresis	Real-time detection/amplification graph	Gel electrophoresis, Turbidity measurement by visual inspection or using a real-time turbidimeter; dye-based visual detection
Qualitative detection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Quantitative detection	No	Yes	Semi-quantitative
Portability	Partially	Yes	Yes
Overall assay time	3–5 h	2.5–4 h	1–1.5 h
Cost effectiveness	Less expensive	Expensive	Less expensive