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Synopsis
In this updated second edition of the much praised Clinical Applications of PCR, leading researchers apply molecular diagnostics to the many recent advances that have occurred in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technologies. Highlights include real-time PCR, which allows the technique to be performed in a quantitative manner with improved sensitivity, robustness, and resilience to carryover contamination, mass spectrometric analysis of nucleic acids, and circulating cell-free nucleic acids in plasma. The authors apply these innovations to a broad spectrum of applications, including gene expression, methylation, trace molecule, gene dosage, and single cell analysis. The protocols follow the successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, each offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principles behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
State-of-the-art and highly practical, Clinical Applications of PCR, Second Edition, will help today's laboratorians and researchers working in molecular diagnostics harness the power of these techniques with unprecedented sensitivity and ease.
Mark A. Jandreski
This is a new book that covers the fundamentals, methodologies, and clinical applications of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). According to the editor, the purpose is to present the basic principles, general methodologies, and some specific clinical applications regarding the use of the polymerase chain reaction. Although a number of texts have been published that deal with the use of PCR, few, if any, have gone to the trouble to present the basic principles and needs of the clinical laboratory in order to use PCR. The goal here is to bring together not just a group of diverse procedures, but to create a text that will help in setting up PCR in a clinical laboratory. This is a worthy objective that is well met by the editor and contributors. It is meant to help "clinical scientists across the many specialties that increasingly require the application of PCR." It is geared toward someone who has a great deal of familiarity and experience in the field of molecular biology as well as the clinical laboratory. The editor has brought together a large number of authorities from around the globe who appear to be using PCR routinely and who are comfortable writing on this subject. The editor does an excellent job presenting PCR at the beginning of the book. Theory, practicalities, and limitations of PCR are well covered in the introduction. The section on general methodologies gives the reader a good overview of the many uses of PCR. The clinical applications section has a good selection of procedures used in the clinical laboratory that illustrate the widespread use of this amplification technique. The book contains pertinent illustrations, but could have used more pictures of gels ordata illustrating results from the clinical procedures in some chapters. The references are current and pertinent. The table of contents is laid out well and the index is good. Readers will find the step-by-step protocols of value. This book contains a great deal of good information for the experienced molecular biologist and should achieve its goal of helping clinical scientists bring PCR into the clinical laboratory. It is well written by a diverse group of experienced authorities from around the world who help explain the use of PCR. Basic researchers as well as clinical laboratorians will find this book a welcome addition to the other molecular biology guides and manuals available, as it contains a comprehensive view of PCR. This is one of the first texts to carefully document all the needs required by laboratorians who hope to perform PCR. In choosing to lay out this text in three separate sections that cover fundamentals, methodologies, and applications of PCR, the editor has created a unique document that will be welcome in the clinical laboratory as well as the research field.