Propidium monoazide (PMA) photo activation can now provide an effective solution to the problem of detecting dead cells in PCR assays.

Recent advances in molecular biology have demonstrated the feasibility of this new approach of detecting genetic targets in viable infective microorganisms. Using photo reactive reagents, like PMA, it is now possible to neutralize the nucleic acids from dead or non-infective microorganisms.

The potential of PMA-PCR methods has been demonstrated with a range of different microorganisms such as viruses, protozoa, bacterial cells and spores.

The photo activation is a critical step in this approach, using the Led Active-Blue system from IB-Applied Science ensures a homogeneous light environment without any negative thermal effects and has the advantage of allowing 12 samples to be processed simultaneously.

For more information, please visit www.IB-as.com