In the modern laboratory, speed is often of the essence and any process capable of saving valuable research time is an advantage. One recent advance in this direction is the development of fast PCR protocols which include both specialised PCR reagents and modified thermal cycling steps. The Techne TC-PLUS thermal cycler gives the user all the features required to make best use of these new methodologies by offering flexible programming and rapid block ramp rates of up to 5ºC/s.

The factors that determine the length of a PCR run are the number of steps and cycles, including any initial denaturation/enzyme activation and final extension steps, the hold times of these steps and the ramp rates between them. All these factors need to be considered when optimising for fast PCR protocols. This application note demonstrates some of the time savings that can be made by changing some of these parameters.

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