A Low-Cost Approach to PCR: Appropriate Transfer of Biomolecular Techniques

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique used to replicate
specific pieces of DNA millions of times, which permits the detection
and analysis of minute amounts of nucleic acids. Since its
introduction in the late 1980s, this technique has been applied not
only in molecular biology research but also in fields as diverse as
anthropology, phylogeny, and forensics. However, despite the large
impact of PCR, many of its applications remain within the confines of
research and the academic environment. Now, in A Low-Cost Approach to
PCR: Appropriate Transfer of Biomolecular Techniques, Dr. Eva Harris
makes this elegantly simple technique more accessible to researchers,
physicians, and laboratory workers throughout the world. She provides
a description of the theoretical basis of the technique, the practical
details of the method, and the philosophy behind the technology
transfer program that she developed over the last ten years. The book
serves as a guide for potential users in developing countries and for
scientists in developed countries who may wish to work abroad. In
addition, the low-cost approach outlined in this book can be useful
for high school, undergraduate, or continuing education programs in
the United States. While the specific applications of PCR outlined in
the book are immediately useful to the study of infectious diseases,
the approach presented can be generalized to a number of other
technologies and situations. The book will help laboratories in many
areas of the world generate information on site for use by physicians,
epidemiologists, public health workers, and health policy
professionals to develop new strategies for disease control.