A Step-by-Step Guide to Designing qPCR Primers
qPCR primer design is a bit of science, a bit of magic, and a little bit of luck. Here’s the science to help you design the best primers for your experiments.
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qPCR primer design is a bit of science, a bit of magic, and a little bit of luck. Here’s the science to help you design the best primers for your experiments.
Before we go any further, we have to get some things straightened out: RT-PCR versus qPCR versus RT-qPCR. Sooo confusing, amirite?? They all refer to specific molecular biology assays, but the names are unfortunately used interchangeably, which can be awfully confusing for just about anyone. So without further ado: Whew! I don’t know about you,…
PCR has become the tool of choice for molecular diagnostics and is now a staple platform in any laboratory setting. The versatility of this method has led to a myriad of spin-off techniques, including probe-based quantitative PCR (qPCR). This method effectively combines PCR amplification and detection into a single step to measure the specific amount…
qPCR is a technique used daily in most labs, but the first step, designing your qPCR primers, can be the biggest obstacle to even getting started. Without a good pair of primers, you can’t start asking the real questions and generating data. And sometimes the effort required to optimize an assay for high efficiency and sensitivity…

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