PCR in Forensic Science
The real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has become the benchmark technology for the detection of nucleic acids in every area of microbiology, biomedical research, biotechnology and in forensic applications (Bustin et al 2012 An Introduction to the real-time polymerase chain reaction qPCR).
The small footprint, easy liquid handling and high-throughput enables the PCR microchip to find promising applications in forensic analysis (Sun et al Circullar Ferrofluid-Driven PCR Microchips).
PCR methods based on mitochondrial genes have been used in forensics because of their high copy number per cell, lack of recombination, and matrilineal inheritance (Santo Domingo et al Microbial Source Tracking: Current and Future Molecular Tools in Microbial Water Quality Forensics)
Further reading
- Real-Time PCR: Advanced Technologies and Applications
- Real-Time PCR in Food Science: Current Technology and Applications
- Quantitative Real-time PCR in Applied Microbiology