title: Enzymological considerations for a theoretical description of the quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction (QC-PCR).
abstract: The enzymological principles of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and of the quantitative competitive PCR (QC-PCR) are developed, proposing a theoretical framework that will facilitate quantification in experimental methodologies. It is demonstrated that the specificity of the QC-PCR, i.e. the ratio of the target initial velocity to that of the competitor template, remains constant not only during a particular amplification but also for increasing initial competitor concentrations. Linear fitting procedures are thus recommended that will enable a quantitative estimate of the initial target concentration. Finally, expressions for the efficiency of the PCR and QC-PCR are derived that are in agreement with previous experimental inferences.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad Simón Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela. SSCHnell@taquion.ivic.ve
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schnell
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mendoza
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004798:Enzymes; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes