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PCR and Its Variations

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Advanced Techniques in Diagnostic Microbiology

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Abstract

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) now provides the basis for many molecular tests used in the clinical microbiology laboratory. PCR amplifies sequences of nucleic acids by using primers directed to the sequence of interest. Amplicon is generated by repeated cycles of denaturation, annealing, and extension. Variations on PCR also allow for quantification of nucleic acids, detection of multiple targets, and organism typing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Eleanor A. Powell

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Michael Loeffelholz

Authors
  1. Eleanor A. Powell
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  2. Michael Loeffelholz
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Correspondence to Eleanor A. Powell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Yi-Wei Tang

  2. Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    Charles W. Stratton

Appendix: Primer Design Resources

Appendix: Primer Design Resources

There are a number of primer design programs and related resources available for free on the World Wide Web. The following is a brief sampling of primer design programs. (URLs accessed on May 21, 2017).

For information on

URL

Primer design

http://biotools.umassmed.edu/bioapps/primer3_www.cgi

BLAST search for primer design

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/tools/primer-blast/index.cgi?LINK_LOC=NcbiHomeAd

Real-time PCR (Taqman) primer design

https://www.genscript.com/ssl-bin/app/primer

Degenerate primer design

http://bibiserv.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/genefisher2/

General resource site

http://molbiol-tools.ca/PCR.htm

PCR and qPCR primer and probe design

https://www.idtdna.com/Primerquest/Home/Index

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Powell, E.A., Loeffelholz, M. (2018). PCR and Its Variations. In: Tang, YW., Stratton, C. (eds) Advanced Techniques in Diagnostic Microbiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33900-9_16

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