Home Chapter Home Jobs Conferences Fellowships Books
Advertisement
Molecular Pathology
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Definition
Author: Rodney E. Shackelford, DO, Ph.D. (see Authors page)
Revised: 22 September 2012, last major update January 2010
Copyright: (c) 2008-2011, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
Definition
=========================================================================
● Common technique used to amplify very small amounts of a specific DNA sequence, even a single copy, into millions or up to 100 billion copies in a short time
● The technique works best on short DNA sequences of 100 to 1,000 base pairs and employs dNTPs, Taq DNA polymerase, oligonucleotides, specific buffer conditions and thermal cycling
● PCR has many variations and is a fundamental tool in medical research and molecular pathology
● Developed in 1983 by Kary Mullis (Wikipedia), who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993 for this work
● Presently over 350,000 papers have been published which use or refer to this technique.
Terminology
=========================================================================
● Frequently called PCR
Additional references
=========================================================================
End of Molecular Pathology > Polymerase Chain Reaction > Definition
This information is intended for physicians and related personnel, who understand that medical information is often imperfect, and must also be interpreted in the context of a patient's clinical data using reasonable medical judgment. This website should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a licensed physician.
All information on this website is protected by copyright of PathologyOutlines.com, Inc. Information from third parties may also be protected by copyright. Please contact us at copyrightPathOut@gmail.com with any questions (click here for other contact information).