[Intercalation monitoring PCR(IM-PCR), its principle and application: quantitative monitoring of HCV RNA in the course of IFN therapy].

We developed intercalation-monitoring PCR(IM-PCR), a homogeneous quantitative assay of DNA/RNA by PCR in the presence of a fluorescent DNA intercalative dye, while monitoring the fluorescence intensity of the PCR reaction mixture in the course of PCR cycles. We demonstrated the application of this assay to quantify HCV RNA in serum samples from patients with chronic hepatitis C. This assay gave efficient and reproducible results in a clinically useful dynamic range below 10(6) copies of HCV RNA for interferon therapy.