PCR Research Overview

Our breadth of products and innovative solutions has you covered every step of the way. Click the tabs above to find out more about how Life Technologies can elevate your PCR research.

Oligos & Primer Design

Oligonucleotides are the starting point for much of today’s biology research, and are a key component of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in amplifying a sequence or gene of interest. Ideally, a PCR primer pair anneals to unique sequences that flank the target and not to other sequences in the sample. Poorly designed primers may amplify other, nontarget sequences.

How do I choose oligos for my application? >

Invitrogen™ custom DNA oligos from Life Technologies are synthetic oligonucleotides made according to your specifications and can be used in a variety of applications, from PCR and sequencing to probes for gene detection.

Order custom DNA oligos >

What primer design tools can I use?
Our primer design tools walk you through the design process and allow you to add 5’ modifications such as restriction sites and proteolytic cleavage sites to your primers, as well as modifications for specific cloning technologies such as Gateway and Directional TOPO Cloning.

PCR Enzymes

With a wide selection of thermostable DNA polymerase choices for PCR, it can be difficult to determine which enzyme best meets your needs. The key to choosing a PCR enzyme is to understand problems that can arise during PCR setup, and how to select the right enzyme for your application. Where to begin?

Get the basics on PCR enzymes >

Which type of PCR enzyme is right for you?
Life Technologies offers a wide selection of high-quality PCR enzymes and reagents to meet your flexibility needs for your research. With Invitrogen™ and Applied Biosystems products you know and trust—including AmpliTaq, AmpliTaq Gold, Platinum Taq, AccupPrime™, and Platinum Pfx products—Life Technologies has what you need for successful PCR.

Choose your PCR enzyme >

RTs

Reverse transcription is the reverse transcriptase-mediated synthesis of single-stranded DNA (complementary DNA, or cDNA) using single-stranded RNA as template; cDNA can serve as templates for amplification by PCR, for generating cDNA libraries or for quantitative PCR (qPCR).

A critical component to obtaining high yields of quality full-length cDNA is the enzyme choice for reverse transcription and cDNA synthesis.

Reverse transcriptase basics >

Which reverse transcriptase is right for you?
Life Technologies offers a wide selection of high-quality reverse transcriptases to meet your research needs. A variety of cDNA synthesis kits and stand-alone enzymes are available for the flexibility needed to perform your experiments.

DNA Electrophoresis

Learn why electrophoresis is a common technique used to identify, quantify, and purify PCR fragments, including the fast, sensitive E-Gel electrophoresis system for quick PCR checks.

Learn more about DNA electrophoresis >

Which tools are available for agarose gel electrophoresis?
For separation of PCR fragments, agarose gel electrophoresis remains the most widely used method because it is simple and nontoxic and offers a broad separation range. Life Technologies offers convenient reagents for agarose gel electrophoresis, including hassle-free, precast E-Gel agarose gels and UltraPure™ reagents to cast agarose gels yourself.

See all agarose gel electrophoresis products >

Agarose Gel Electrophoresis Tips & Tricks >

基因選殖

Whether your downstream goals are functional analysis or protein expression, cloning is an important technique for most molecular biology studies. Choosing the right cloning method for your experiment depends on a number of factors such as the size of your DNA fragments, downstream analysis, time, and budget.

Introduction to cloning >

Which tools are available for my cloning experiments?
With innovative kits and reagents that help to reduce the time for cloning and simplify your procedures, we'll make sure you achieve reliable, reproducible performance at every stage of your cloning experiments. You may wish to design and view your cloning constructs in silico using Vector NTI Software prior to your laboratory experiments.
From restriction enzyme and ligation cloning to powerful TA and TOPO Cloning solutions, we have everything you need for cloning success.

How do I choose my cloning method? >

轉形

Following a successful cloning reaction in which the DNA fragment or gene of interest has been cloned into a vector, the process of transformation is commonly used to introduce recombinant plasmid DNA into bacterial strains, which can either be transformed naturally or be made competent (referred to as competent cells) for transformation by artificial means.

Tell me more about transformation >

How do I choose the right competent cells for my application?
Life Technologies offers a variety of competent cells in different formats to help ensure transformation success, such as economical Subcloning Efficiency™ DH5α™ Chemically Competent Cells, and high-efficiency and fast-growing One Shot Mach1™ T1R Chemically Competent Cells. In addition, you’ll find the right competent cells for more specialized applications such as cloning unstable DNA and single-stranded DNA production.

Help me choose competent cells for my application >