How Digital PCR Unlocks Scientific Possibilities - Asian Scientist Magazine

Date2nd, Nov 2023

Summary:

Digital PCR has emerged as a powerful new tool in research. QIAGEN takes it a step further with its robust, scalable and well-integrated nanoplate-based digital PCR system.

Full text:

AsianScientist (Nov. 2, 2023) – The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) developed in the 1980s sparked a scientific revolution. With researchers able to reproduce specific fragments of DNA rapidly for in-depth study, many fields experienced advancements, from clinical diagnostics to microbiome and cancer research. Since then, the PCR has been further refined, leading to newer forms like digital PCR.

Unlike traditional PCR, digital PCR measures the number of nucleic acids quantitatively and with higher precision, as it divides the sample into thousands of smaller partitions that undergo PCR amplification separately but simultaneously. Partitions with amplified target molecules are identified using fluorescence, while the final distribution of target molecules is obtained using statistical methods—specifically Poisson distribution. Being more versatile and sensitive, digital PCR can perform absolute quantification without the need for a reference sample. As such, digital PCR has a lower detection limit and higher precision than qPCR.

An all-in-one scalable solution

Source:

Asian Scientist Magazine