Its another development to this popular technique that further stretches a technique that is over 20 years old and is commonly used in medical and biological research labs for a variety of tasks, such as the detection of hereditary diseases, the identification of genetic fingerprints, the diagnosis of infectious diseases, the cloning of genes, paternity testing, and DNA computing.

Qiagen has said this kit has not been cleared by any regulatory body for use in human diagnostics or any other clinical purpose.

The kit is compatible with all makes and types of thermal cyclers and current PCR assays. The kit differs from other available PCR reagents in that it does not require laborious optimisation, such as redesigning primers or PCR protocols, according to the company.

The kits reduce cycling time to under 20 minutes, due to the innovative PCR additive system, and allow researchers to cut the time required for PCR-based research by as much as 75 per cent.

"This novel, proprietary technology opens a new dimension of potentials for PCR," said Dr. Ulla Deutsch, Qiagen's senior global product manager of amplification.

"The kit offers PCR users the opportunity to increase PCR throughput by a factor of four, without triggering investments in new laboratory equipment and without compromising the quality of their results."