Primers

Primers are short oligonucleotides, that usually consist of 20 to 40 nucleotides. In molecular biology, primers are mostly used for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), that allows the amplification of DNA in vitro. The amplification is achieved by DNA-polymerases, to which the primers serve as starting points during DNA-synthesis. Primers can be used to obtain specific DNA-fragments for cloning experiments or, in the form of qRT-PCR (quantitative Real-Time PCR), for quantitative detection of nucleic acids.