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Nucleic acid processors designed to increase nucleic acid (e.g., DNA, RNA, mRNA) samples in a repetitive process (i.e., replication) that multiplies the number of samples in each cycle. The procedure is directly applicable to DNA samples; RNA samples usually require a reverse transcription procedure. The nucleic acid samples are typically obtained from body fluid specimens such as whole blood, serum, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and/or other cell samples. This equipment may perform the replication (amplification) either at constant temperature or through a thermal cycle. Some devices use advanced techniques to extend the length and provide higher fidelity of the sequence that could be amplified (e.g., using a blend of a thermostable polymerase and/or a proofreading polymerase) and/or introducing molecular tags (e.g., digoxigenin) to make possible the detection and quantification of minute amount of pathogens. Nucleic acid replicators are used in clinical laboratories to obtain appropriate samples for analysis from previously purified nucleic acids either for diagnosis or research.
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