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Nanotechnology Applications in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

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Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology

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Synonyms

Nucleic acid amplification; Oligonucleotide amplification

Definition

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most prevalent technology used in modern molecular biology research. Generally, it is a technique to amplify the amount of a piece of DNA with a specific sequence. Although the PCR technique is mature, improvement of its efficiency is still an emerging area of research. Recently, nanotechnology is getting more attention in this application. Several nanometer-sized materials such as carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles, quantum dots, and metal oxide nanoparticles have been employed.

Introduction

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique is a series of chemical processes to exponentially amplify the number of a specific DNA sequence, producing hundreds of thousands of copies of DNA from a low original sample concentration. This revolutionary technique was first developed by Dr. Kary Mullis in 1983 [1]. Since then, it has been broadly utilized in medical, biomedical,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Mechatronics Engineering, Southern Polytechnic State University, 1100 South Marietta Pkwy, Room Q346, Marietta, GA, 30060-2896, USA

    Kuo-Sheng Ma & Yingnan Ma

  2. Department of Engineering Technology, Weber State University, 3848 Harrison Blvd, Ogden, UT, 84408, USA

    Fred Chiou

Authors
  1. Kuo-Sheng Ma
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  2. Yingnan Ma
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  3. Fred Chiou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kuo-Sheng Ma .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Biomimetics (NLB²), Ohio State University Nanoprobe Lab. for Bio- & Nanotechnology, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Bharat Bhushan

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Ma, KS., Ma, Y., Chiou, F. (2015). Nanotechnology Applications in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). In: Bhushan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6178-0_356-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6178-0_356-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6178-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Chemistry and Mat. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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