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The Method Of Detection Of Dna

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1. Primer Annealing – temperature is lowered so that primers attach to DNA strands
2. Extension – DNA polymerase (e.g. Taq) helps to make new DNA strands.
The PCR cycle continues as DNA is copied exponentially. The original PCR methods allowed detection of DNA growth at the end of the process; however the introduction Real Time-PCR (RT-PCR) has allowed DNA amplification progress to be monitored throughout the assay (6).
RT-PCR is often confused with reverse-transcriptase PCR (rt-PCR), however rt-PCR is a method of detecting RNA by utilising reverse transcriptase to synthesise cDNA by. cDNA is then amplified and detected by PCR techniques (6).
RT-PCR has now advanced so that assays can now screen several viral DNA/RNA at once (Multiplex PCR). The Roche - Cobas TaqScreen MPX Test v2.0 encompasses an rt-PCR stage to allow detection of:
• HIV-1 Group M (RNA)
• HIV-1 Group O (RNA)
• HIV-2 (RNA)
• HCV (DNA)
• HBV (DNA)
(5)
MPX PCR uses several gene specific primers (forward and reverse strands) within a reaction mix. Internal controls are present within the testing kit, making the process highly efficient. By combining several tests on one platform, this is a very lean method testing; however there is a small risk of cross-hybridisation due to the volume of different primers used (5,6).
An added benefit of using RT-PCR to screen viral targets is that they shorten the detection window period of some viruses. This means, even if a viral marker can be detected serologically

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