Analysis of Amplification Curve Data

Dear Colleagues,

Since the advent of PCR, amplification curve data has become common not only in molecular laboratories, but also in diagnostics and forensics. Although the principles of nucleic acid quantification appear to be simple, the data analysis proves to be challenging. Despite almost thirty years of development of methods for nucleic acid quantification, there is still a need for more precise and reproducible solutions. Another issue is the variability of the implementations of quantification algorithms which are built using different assumptions depending on the software. This includes methods for the analysis of quantitative PCRs, digital PCRs, and melting curve analyses. To overcome obstacles from the process of data generation (preparing and processing the sample material, reporting the experimental conditions), the scientific community focused on developing data analysis methods and standards (such as MIQE and digital MIQE guidelines).

This Special Issue will collect high-quality research for the analysis of qPCR amplification curve data. We welcome submissions that address this problem in vitro, by introducing new experimental methods, but also in silico. We especially encourage submissions of software/modules/packages devoted to the analysis of amplification curves. The submitted manuscripts do not have to be strictly mathematical, and we are very open towards more empirical experiences. We also appreciate studies describing the limitations of already implemented specific methods.

Dr. Stefan Rödiger
Dr. Andrej-Nikolai Spiess
Dr. Michał Burdukiewicz
Guest Editors

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