Advanced methods in PCR product detection.

To utilize PCR to its fullest potential, the identification and measurement of PCR products, or amplicons, must be improved compared with traditional methods. Amplicons must be identified by their specific nucleotide sequence to prevent false or ambiguous results caused by primer-dimer formation, nonspecific amplification, or target sequence variation. Quantitation of amplicon levels is an important first step for the estimation of the relative number of initial target molecules.