An introduction to in vitro nucleic acid amplification techniques

Abstract

A molecular microbiology detection procedure consists of three basic components: (1) nucleic acid extraction, (2) amplification, and (3) detection/identification. Over the past two decades, the development and optimization of a series of in vitro nucleic acid amplification (NAA) technologies has opened new avenues in diagnostic microbiology for the detection, identification, and characterization of pathogenic organisms [1-3]. These techniques promise to replace traditional culture-based biological replication of live microbial pathogens by enzymatic amplification of specific nucleic acid sequences. These techniques have reduced the dependency of the clinical microbiology laboratory on cultured-based methods and created new opportunities for the field of microbiology to enhance patient care.