Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Aug 15;1(1):1-2.
doi: 10.1016/j.bdq.2014.06.001. eCollection 2014 Sep.

Digital PCR: A brief history

Affiliations
Review

Digital PCR: A brief history

Alexander A Morley. Biomol Detect Quantif. .

Abstract

Digital PCR for quantification of a target of interest has been independently developed several times, being described in 1990 and 1991 using the term "limiting dilution PCR" and in 1999 using the term "digital PCR". It came into use in the decade following its first development but its use was cut short by the description of real-time PCR in 1996. However digital PCR has now had a renaissance due to the recent development of new instruments and chemistry which have made it a much simpler and more practical technique.

Keywords: Digital PCR; Limiting dilution; PCR.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Vogelstein B., Kinzler K.W., Digital P.C.R. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999;96:9236–9241. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Saiki R., Gelfand D.H., Stoffel S., Scharf S.J., Higuchi R., Horn G.T. Primer-directed enzymatic amplification of DNA with a thermostable DNA polymerase. Science. 1988;239:487–491. - PubMed
    1. Jeffreys A.J., Neumann R., Wilson V. Repeat unit sequence variation in minisatellites: a novel source of DNA polymorphism for studying variation and mutation by single molecule analysis. Cell. 1990;60:473–485. - PubMed
    1. Ruano G., Kidd K.K., Stephens J.C. Haplotype of multiple polymorphisms resolved by enzymatic amplification of single DNA molecules. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990;87:6296–6300. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Simmonds P., Balfe P., Peutherer J.F., Ludlam C.A., Bishop J.O., Brown A.J. Human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals contain provirus in small numbers of peripheral mononuclear cells and at low copy numbers. J Virol. 1990;64:864–872. - PMC - PubMed