The polymerase chain reaction is not only essential for many DNA-based diagnostic methods but is also exploited in other molecular methods that require an upstream amplification step. Multiplex PCRs are especially attractive as they reduce the number of individual reactions. However, the multiplexing efficiency is impaired by primer interactions such as the formation of primer dimers. In this study, covalent crosslinking of primers via their 5′-ends was used to avoid those undesired effects. The specificity of the primers as well as the efficiency of the PCR could be increased upon primer crosslinking in reactions containing up to 34 primer pairs targeting the most important antibiotic resistance genes in a single multiplex reaction.

聚合酶链式反应不仅对于许多基于 DNA 的诊断方法至关重要，而且还被用于需要上游扩增步骤的其他分子方法中。多重 PCR 特别有吸引力，因为它们减少了单个反应的数量。然而，引物相互作用（例如引物二聚体的形成）会损害复用效率。在本研究中，通过引物 5' 末端的共价交联来避免这些不良影响。在单个多重反应中包含多达 34 个针对最重要的抗生素抗性基因的引物对的反应中，引物交联可以提高引物的特异性以及 PCR 的效率。