Setting up a PCR laboratory.

INTRODUCTIONDevelopment of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a basic component of the molecular biology laboratory has occurred very rapidly from its inception in 1985. As PCR became more widely used, scientists rapidly learned more about it and, as a result, learned that PCR had its strong points and its deficiencies. Very quickly, PCR demonstrated its power to amplify very small amounts (e.g., a single copy) of template nucleic acid and to amplify different nucleic acids (e.g., DNA and RNA). At the same time, laboratory personnel learned that this biochemical reaction had a unique deficiency, namely, a strong susceptibility to contamination from its own product. This article is devoted to establishing a PCR laboratory whose operations will give reliable and contamination-free results.