The Kaneka DNA chromatography chip (KDCC) was successfully developed for simultaneous detection of five Alexandrium species.

The results can be easily interpreted by simply observing the positive signals, i.e. a red line originated from gold nanocolloid within 5 min after applying the PCR products and the development buffer on the chip.

Detection limit of KDCC varied among species and it was <0.1–10 pg and equivalent to 5–500 copies of rRNA genes, indicating that the technique is sensitive enough for practical use of Alexandrium monitoring.