In this paper, we report a method that facilitates direct detection by
the naked eye of the 13most common “nondeletion” alpha-globin gene
mutations in populations around the Mediterranean and Middle East
using a dipstick biosensor in a dry-reagent format. The method
comprises PCR amplification of a single fragment for each HBA1 and
HBA2 gene flanking all mutations, using any conventional thermal
cycler, multiplex primer extension (PEXT) reaction of just 10 cycles
followed by the visual detection of the reaction productswithin minutes
by the multi-allele dipstick biosensor. Specialized instrumentation is
precluded, and the requirements for highly qualified technical personnel
are minimized.