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Polymerase Chain Reaction: An Emerging Tool For Research In Pharmacology, Rishi Sharma, Manjeet Singh, Ajay Sharma

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique that can amplify a specific DNA segment in vitro using two site specific primers that hybridise to opposite DNA strands. The method produces large amounts of specific DNA from a complex DNA template in a single enzymatic reaction within a matter of hours. Reaction mixture contains a double helix DNA, two target specific primers, dNTPs, a DNA polymerase and a Mg2+ containing buffer. PCR is carried out in three distinct steps i.e. denaturation step, annealing step and extension step, which are repeated many times. The efficiency of PCR is measured in terms of …