Those who have worked in the field of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) since the early 1990s have accepted many of the tedious aspects of the early assays as routine. Difficulties associated with early quantitative PCR techniques included: (i) ensuring that the PCR was within the linear range of amplification (that portion where the PCR signal is directly proportional to the input c...

The image on this cover is of an OpenArray ® plate which is primarily used for mid-density real-time PCR on the QuantStudio™ 12K Flex system. The figure above shows the commonly used formats for real-time PCR.

The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) uses fluorescent reporter molecules to monitor the production of amplification products during each cycle of the PCR reaction. This combines the DNA amplification and detection steps into one homogeneous assay and obviates the need for gel electrophoresis to detect amplification products. Appropriate data analysis and/or use of apposite chemistries ...