The oligonucleotide is designed such that there are complementary regions at each end and a probe sequence located in between. This design allows the probe to take on a hairpin, or stem-loop, structure in its natural, isolated state. Attached to one end of the probe is a fluorophore and to the other end a fluorescence quencher.
The oligonucleotide is engineered to have complementary sequences at each end and a probe sequence in between. This design enables the probe to adopt a hairpin or stem-loop structure naturally, even when isolated. One end of the probe is attached with a fluorophore, while the other end is linked with a fluorescence quencher.