Digital PCR
- 3 August 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 96 (16) , 9236-9241
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.96.16.9236
Abstract
The identification of predefined mutations expected to be present in a minor fraction of a cell population is important for a variety of basic research and clinical applications. Here, we describe an approach for transforming the exponential, analog nature of the PCR into a linear, digital signal suitable for this purpose. Single molecules are isolated by dilution and individually amplified by PCR; each product is then analyzed separately for the presence of mutations by using fluorescent probes. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through the detection of a mutant ras oncogene in the stool of patients with colorectal cancer. The process provides a reliable and quantitative measure of the proportion of variant sequences within a DNA sample.Keywords
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