1. The Scorpions primer is an extension of molecular beacons.
The Scorpions primer is an extension of molecular beacons. To a molecular beacon, a blocker (grey circle) and PCR primer are added (top). The blocker prevents the copying of the molecular beacon part of the molecule. After one round of amplification (middle), the molecular beacon extension of the primer is able to hybridize with the newly synthesized DNA strand, allowing fluorescence (bottom).
Ad C. Fluit et al. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 2001; doi: /CMR