MDA is a molecular amplification method that enhances simple, rapid, isothermal whole-genome amplification.

By applying MDA to linear genomic DNA, it is possible to achieve a million-fold amplification with a very high degree of accuracy (bias 2-3 fold and greater than 99% coverage).

Hexamer primers are added to linear genomic DNA together with a highly specialized polymerase. The unique properties of the polymerase proceed to carry out strand displacement DNA synthesis on double- or single-stranded DNA templates. Once initial priming has occurred, an exponential cascade of branched amplification generates single-stranded templates for ongoing priming.

The polymerase is able to copy, prime, and recopy any DNA target without the need to repeatedly denature the template as required by PCR.

The exponential nature of the amplification process is powerful enough to amplify DNA from even a single cell up to a million-fold in only a few hours.