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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Laser Microdissection for Species-Agnostic Single-Tissue Applications
Published on: March 31, 2022
Elimination of amplification artifacts in real-time reverse transcription PCR using laser capture microdissected
Ward De Spiegelaere1, Tim Erkens, Jurgen De Craene
1Department of Morphology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium. ward.despiegelaere@ugent.be
Abstract:
Gene expression analysis on laser capture microdissected samples can be hampered because of the small sample size. The interference of PCR inhibitors increases with smaller sample size. Real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) is usually performed directly after the reverse transcription step, enabling PCR inhibitors to remain in the complementary DNA (cDNA). A protocol was optimized for real-time RT-PCR with SYBR Green I. The introduction of an additional cDNA purification step after reverse transcription removed PCR inhibitors, making the reaction more efficient.

