FIG. 2.

Effect of denaturation on HBV DNA real-time NASBA. Reaction mixtures with samples were heated at 65°C (A) or 95°C (B) prior to addition of the enzyme mix. We used two plasma samples, each with a known HBV DNA load of 10⁹ copies/ml (quantified by bDNA), and a Boston Biomedica Inc. panel of serum samples, also with known loads (see Materials and Methods). The denaturing step at 95°C improved the sensitivity of the assay, with more samples being detected at that temperature than at 65°C.