A STATISTICAL-METHOD FOR THE DETECTION OF FALSE POSITIVES AND FALSE NEGATIVES IN MICROTITRE FORMAT PCR ASSAYS

A method is described which can be used to determine whether a series of PCR reactions carried out in a microtitre plate are inherently unlikely to have occurred by chance, and hence to show 'false' results. The method is an extension of the familiar 'runs test' which can be used for tube-based PCRs. A Monte Carlo simulation program is discussed which can be used to generate expected probability distributions for either symmetric or asymmetric plate designs. In addition, systematic departures from a random pattern due to 'edge effects' can be detected.