Methods in DNA amplification

This collection gathers laboratory approaches for copying and detecting DNA and RNA, with a focus on clinical and diagnostic use. Its opening contributions examine the polymerase chain reaction as applied to fixed tissue samples, and consider how the technique has changed the work of pathologists. Further chapters cover rapid, sensitive methods for detecting and measuring nucleic acids, alternative amplification approaches based on ligase-mediated detection, and NASBA, a technique applied to infectious agents.

The volume then turns to specific diagnostic applications. Contributors describe using NASBA to identify Listeria monocytogenes, and they explore how PCR can confirm hepatitis C virus infection in patients whose serology results are inconclusive, as well as how it helps verify hepatitis C in serum samples. Other chapters address detecting Toxoplasma DNA in peripheral blood leukocytes from patients with suspected toxoplasmosis, identifying bacterial and fungal pathogens, and finding Mycobacterium tuberculosis in clinical specimens.

Beyond these named chapters, the book includes seventeen further articles and a subject index. Its contents are aimed at researchers, clinical laboratory scientists and physicians who want to understand or adopt molecular amplification methods in diagnostic practice.