In 1998, when the PCR technique was already popular, a Japanese company called Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. designed a method known as the loop-mediated isothermal amplification of DNA (LAMP). The method can produce up to 109 copies of the amplified DNA within less than an hour. It is also highly specific due to the use of two to three pairs of primers (internal, external, and loop), which recognise up to eight specific locations on the DNA or RNA targets. Furthermore, the Bst DNA polymerase most used in LAMP shows a high strand displacement activity, which eliminates the DNA denaturation stage. One of the most significant advantages of LAMP is that it can be conducted at a stable temperature, for instance, in a dry block heater or an incubator. The products of LAMP can be detected much faster than in standard techniques, sometimes only requiring analysis with the naked eye. The following overview highlights the usefulness of LAMP and its effectiveness in various fields; it also considers the superiority of LAMP over PCR and presents RT-LAMP as a rapid diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2.

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Bivalves play an important part in freshwater ecosystems and improve water quality; the thick-shelled river mussel Unio crassus is classified as a bioindicator. Unfortunately, the species is regarded as endangered and is under species protection in the whole of Europe. The reasons for the drastic decline of its populations are: considerable eutrophication of waters, anthropogenic influence in its broad sense and the presence of invasive species. The life cycle of U. crassus includes the stage of larva which is an obligatory parasite of fish. This makes it possible for the species to disperse and populate new territories but it limits the development to places where appropriate host species are available. Intensive measures have been taken in Poland to protect U. crassus, while in France numerous new localities of the species have been bar-coded. In 2010–2014 active protection measures were taken in southern Poland, including inventorying, studies of genetic diversity and reintroductions. The project contributed to the increase in population abundance and in the number of localities of the thick-shelled river mussel, which resulted in a twofold increase in the range of occurrence of the species in the river. The procedures presented here can and should be used in further restitution of U. crassus not only in Poland but also elsewhere in Europe.

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Amplifikacja w warunkach izotermicznych (technika LAMP) jest idealną odpowiedzią na rosnące zapotrzebowanie ze strony laboratoriów molekularnych, diagnostycznych, a także kryminalistycznych. Technika LAMP jest atrakcyjną alternatywą dla klasycznej reakcji PCR, a jej użycie pozwala na skrócenie czasu analizy nawet trzykrotnie. Polimerazy wykorzystywane do tego typu amplifikacji mają zdolność wypierania nici DNA, co eliminuje konieczność denaturacji matrycy. Dzięki użyciu kilku par starterów w reakcji LAMP, przeprowadzona amplifikacja jest bardziej specyficzna, a także w porównaniu do reakcji PCR pozwala na otrzymanie większej ilości produktu i jego detekcję bez użycia dodatkowychprocedur i sprzętu. Technika LAMP zyskuje znaczenie w takich dziedzinach jak: przestępstwa gospodarcze, diagnostyka ludzkich i zwierzęcych chorób zakaźnych, detekcja patogenów roślinnych o szerokim znaczeniu gospodarczym czy identyfikacja roślin GMO.