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AAT Bioquest

What is the purpose of preparing a master mix?

Posted September 19, 2022


Answer

A master mix is a mixture containing the precursors and enzymes necessary to run a PCR assay. Using a PCR master mix for real-time PCR assays offers several advantages. 

  • A master mix enables faster setup with less pipetting as the mix can be prepared at one time and divided among multiple pipettes to save time. Researchers don’t have to spend time individually adding precise amounts of buffers, enzymes, dNTP, cofactor and water to each reaction tube or plate well.
  • A master mix reduces the scope of pipetting, which means less room for experimental error, less variability among tubes, and minimum contamination. This provides more precise results. 
  • A PCR master mix also provides more consistency and more reproducible results because the concentrations are already optimized for efficient PCR amplification of DNA templates.
Additional resources

Cost-effective frozen master mix modification of a commercial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus PCR assay

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

TAQuest™ FAST qPCR Master Mix for TaqMan Probes *No ROX*