FAQ: How should I design primers for Luna® qPCR?

We recommend using primer design software (e.g., Primer3) to select target and primer sequences in order to maximize amplification efficiency while minimizing nonspecific amplification and primer dimers. Luna qPCR is also compatible with commercially available qPCR assays. If designing primers manually, we encourage designing short amplicons (70 bp to 200 bp) with balanced GC content (40-60%). Aim for a Tm of approximately 60°C using Hot Start Taq settings in the NEB Tm calculator (TmCalculator.neb.com). For cDNA and RNA targets, it is advisable to design primers across known splicing sites (exon-exon junctions) in order to prevent amplification from genomic DNA.