Rapid establishment of droplet digital PCR for quantitative GMO analysis

Digital PCR promises quantification of nucleic acids without using external standards. This new opportunity may relieve molecular analytics from an important source of discussions and measurement uncertainty. In addition, small numbers of samples might be quantified more efficiently. We established several digital PCR methods for the quantification of genetically modified plant traits. The focus during establishment was on rapidity in conjunction with flexibility leading to efficient duplex assays. We assessed the absolute quantification using a multitarget amplicon and verified accurate quantification by determination of certified reference material and comparing results from real-time PCR with results from droplet digital PCR using the QX200 digital PCR system from Bio-Rad.