Probably one of the hottest methods right now in the world of science is PCR (polymerase chain reaction). What started in 1983 as a simple method to amplify DNA now has many different variations and endless application possibilities. As of today, PCR reached the “golden standard” status and is the most applied method in molecular diagnostics with hard-to-beat accuracy and reliability. PCR is routinely applied in infectious disease diagnostics, but also genetic, oncology, prenatal screenings. I doubt that the PCR inventor would have ever guessed that this would become the method eventually transferring the whole healthcare industry. Today, using the same PCR reaction we are basically able to detect anything within minutes, which is a powerful and irreplaceable tool in the hands of medical professionals.
The most popular variations are probably the conventional PCR aka endpoint PCR and qPCR also known as real-time PCR or RT-PCR. To avoid any confusion we are going with endpoint PCR and qPCR.
Both of these variations have a quite similar general mechanism. First, you need purified DNA (not mandatory, but recommended). The larger part of the PCR reaction occurs in three main steps, repeated around 20-40 times.
Lyophilization, also known as freeze-drying, is in simple terms a water-removal process that increases product stability and preserves its functionality. Our new SolisFAST® Lyo-Ready qPCR Kit with UNG represents an optimized lyophilization-compatible qPCR solution to enhance the simplicity, convenience, and speed of diagnostic and applied testing.
The running joke with PCR is that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Quite often it’s even impossible to determine why some samples turned out fine while the others did not. In a situation like this, it would be amazing to know some trick or a secret to avoid spending all the time and resources to do the experiment again. Here are a few we are willing to share so that you could find love for PCR.
In research, every day different methods are used to discover something new, whether it is a new disease, medicine, or something else. Often these methods were developed long ago and are confirmed to be doing what they are supposed to do. However, as technology develops so do new methods. This is exactly what Professor Steven Williams’ lab is doing at Smith College – developing new methods to be used in research and diagnostics.
As an alternative to PCR, the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reaction has been developed for DNA detection. The LAMP test is fast, simple, and sensitive.