What is digital droplet PCR?

Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) is a refined approach to PCR that partitions a sample into thousands of nanoliter-sized droplets. Each droplet acts as an individual reaction vessel, allowing for highly sensitive and precise quantification of target DNA or RNA sequences. After PCR amplification, the droplets are analyzed individually to determine the fraction of positive and negative droplets. This partitioning and analysis enable absolute quantification of the target nucleic acid without the need for external standards. ddPCR is commonly used for rare allele detection, copy number variation analysis, gene expression studies, and infectious disease detection.