Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from January, 2019

A Cheatsheet for Optimizing your PCR

Starting off with optimizing a PCR can be a daunting task. Optimization outcomes vary widely with reaction temperatures, reagent consistency and sometimes even pipetting technique. The following guide will help you to optimize your PCR results in no time. Image Credits: Lab Manager 1. Primer Selection Primer selection is the first step towards a successful PCR is primer selection. There are two ways you can go with this. The first is to select primers that have been already reported in previous publications. It is a shortcut but care must be taken to select primers that have been reported in a large number of current publications.  The second way that you can go around is with designing a primer of your own. Online programs such as the  primer designing tool  by NCBI can help you create new primers and also ensure the integrity of previously reported primers. 2. Order Multiple Primers When ordering custom made primers for a particular gene, you c...