Introduction to Molecular Diagnostics

Abstract

Molecular diagnostics has become a growing part of the clinical laboratory. It includes all tests and methods to identify a disease and understand the predisposition for a disease analyzing DNA or RNA of an organism. Rapid advances in molecular diagnostics enable basic research and results in practical diagnostic tests. The basic application is to determine changes in sequence or expression levels in crucial genes involved in disease. The use of molecular diagnostics, such as pre-implantation diagnostics or predictive genetic testing, still has technical problems as well as novel, and to date unclear, social, ethical and legal implications. The scope of molecular diagnostics in molecular medicine could be expanded well beyond current nucleic acid testing. It plays an important role in practice of medicine, public health, pharmaceutical industry, forensics and biological warfare and drug discovery. The molecular diagnostic marketplace offers a growth opportunity given the interest in utilizing molecular tools to precisely target therapeutics.