primerbank设计引物（PrimerBank Optimizing PCR Primers for Accurate and Efficient Target Amplificati

PrimerBank: Optimizing PCR Primers for Accurate and Efficient Target Amplification

Introduction:

PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a technique used to amplify DNA sequences by repeated cycles of denaturation, annealing, and extension. The success of PCR depends largely on the design of primers, short oligonucleotide sequences that selectively anneal to the target DNA. Primer design is critical for specificity, sensitivity, and efficiency, and is often a trial and error process. PrimerBank is a publicly available resource for optimized PCR primer design based on user-provided target sequences.

Overview of PrimerBank:

PrimerBank is a web-based tool developed by the National Cancer Institute of the United States that provides access to pre-designed and optimized PCR primers for a wide range of genes and organisms. PrimerBank contains over 306,800 primers designed for 38,319 human gene transcripts, 32,448 mouse gene transcripts, and 18,939 rat gene transcripts. The database is constantly updated with new primer sets as well as improved versions of existing sets to ensure the highest quality and accuracy of results.

Designing Custom Primers:

While PrimerBank offers a comprehensive library of pre-designed primers, users can also design their own custom primers using PrimerQuest, an integrated tool within PrimerBank. PrimerQuest allows users to enter their own target sequence and design primers with specific parameters such as primer length, melting temperature, GC content, and product size. The tool also provides detailed reports of primer characteristics, including specificity, secondary structures, and potential formation of primer-dimer.

Conclusion:

PrimerBank is a valuable resource for researchers looking to optimize PCR primer design for accurate and efficient target amplification. The online platform offers a comprehensive library of pre-designed primers as well as a tool for custom primer design, ensuring specificity and sensitivity for a wide range of genes and organisms. PrimerBank saves valuable time and resources by eliminating the need for trial and error primer design and promoting consistent and reliable results across experiments.