Molecular and Immunological Diagnostic Techniques of Medical Viruses

Figure 2

Diagram of molecular beacon. (A) The molecule forms hairpin when free in solution. This brings fluorophore (yellow ball) and quencher (black ball) in close proximity, so that no fluorescent light is detected. (B) The molecule hybridizes to the target sequence. This separates the fluorophore and quencher and leads to emission of fluorescent light.