Quantitative Real-Time PCR
For Student Groups

Experiments

• DNA isolation
• Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)
• Real-time detection of DNA by fluorescent dyes

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used for decades as a technique for DNA detection in a broad range of application fields. In medical diagnostic for example, it is applied to detect infectious organisms such as bacteria and viruses or to reveal mutations in human DNA.
In contrast to end-point detection in normal PCR, quantitative real-time PCR monitors the amplification of target DNA during PCR cycles and enables the determination of starting DNA amount in a tested sample.
This course elucidates the operation principle of qPCR, the light-cycler as the applied special instrument as well as the detection method using DNA fluorescent dyes.