Comparison of the Plexor HY System, Quantifiler and Quantifiler Duo kits using the Roche LightCycler 480 System and the ABI 7900 real time PCR instrument

In this study, we used two real time PCR platforms (Roche LightCycler 480 System and the ABI 7900 real time PCR instrument) to compare three commercial kits for DNA quantification. Special emphasis was put on PCR efficiency, detection limit and detection range. Furthermore, we tested the influence of the calibrator DNA included in the different kits on the absolute values. 40 artificial stain samples as well as 40 reference saliva samples were tested and compared. Two main observations could be made: the kits had a strong influence on the amount of DNA determined (Quantifiler^® < Quantifiler Duo^® < Plexor^® kit) whereas the real time PCR platforms showed no significant influence on the outcome.