The PCR primer design as a metaheuristic search process

Abstract

The Polymerase Chain Reaction process is a well-known technique for the in vitro amplification of a DNA sequence. The success of a PCR depends on several parameters particularly the primer sequences used. Since the design of a suitable pair of primer involves a reasonable number of variables, which can have a range of different values, computer programs are commonly used to assist this task. This paper approaches the design of a pair of primer sequences as a search process throughout the space defined by all possible primer sequence pairs, directed by an evaluation function that combines the many variables involved in a primer design; an experiment and its results are discussed. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.