Multiplexing for the detection of multiple biowarfare agents shows promisein the field

Standard amplification of nucleic acids, or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) , is replacing the more traditional microbiological assays in the detection of biological agents. However, standard PCR is designed as a one program-t o-one agent amplification method, and not knowing what agents to test for m akes this approach time consuming, During a field training exercise to dete ct four biowarfare agents using the standard PCR method, we conducted an ad ditional experiment that reduced the diagnostic time to one-fourth. By repr ogramming the four amplification programs to one program and preparing a co cktail containing the four different primer sets for the agents (known as m ultiplexing, or mPCR), we were able to amplify the four genetically differe nt biological agents simultaneously. This is the first time a military unit has performed this kind of field testing, and it shows promise for the ear ly detection of multiple biowarfare agents.