Figure 1

Illustration of the benefit of thermolabile CleanAmp™ primers for selective primer utilization in one-step RT-PCR. During the room temperature set-up and lower temperature reverse transcription steps, the presence of two thermolabile protecting groups (each indicated as X) blocks competing extension of the PCR primers. At reverse transcription temperatures, cDNA synthesis is performed using an unmodified oligo(dT)₁₈ primer. A Hot Start activation step at elevated temperature (95°C) promotes loss of the thermolabile protecting group, which allows for use of the PCR primers during PCR portion of the thermal cycling protocol.