Number of targets

The number of target atoms in the sample may be calculated directly from the basic equation of activation analysis ... 

In bDNA the number of target molecules is not altered. The signal of direct hybridization rather than the nucleic acid sequence itself is amplified and thus is directly proportional to the amount of target sequence present in the clinical sample. Both RNA and DNA sequences can be measured directly in clinical specimens, and there is no need to transcribe RNA into cDNA as there is with PCR. 

One result of pesticide use is the growth in the number of target species ( pests ) that have become resistant to pesticides. From 1970 to 1984, the number of resistant arthropod species doubled - from 224 to 447. These include 25 species of beetles, mites, and caterpillars that attack... 

Resistant weeds may appear and spread with the intensive use of herbicides these are plants whose root systems are found in the deep layers of the soil, and are damaged by herbicides to a lesser degree [3]. Thus, as a result of the intensive use of pesticides, the number of target species increases rather than decreases. 

Biomolecular MS and in particular MALDI-TOF-MS (see Sections 2.1.22 and 2.2.1) permit the routine analysis of oligonucleotides up to 70-mers, intact nucleic acids, and the direct detection of DNA products with no primer labels with an increase in analysis speed and mass accuracy especially in contrast to traditional DNA separation techniques such as slab gels or capillary electrophoresis. Applications focus on the characterization of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and short tandem repeats (STRs). Precise and accurate gene expression measurements show relative and absolute numbers of target molecules determined independently of the number of PCR cycles. DNA methylation can be studied quantitatively. 

---