Melting curve analysis

Melting curve analysis is an assessment of the dissociation-characteristics of double-stranded DNA during heating. As the temperature is raised, the double strand begins to dissociate leading to a rise in the absorbance intensity, hyperchromicity. The temperature at which 50% of DNA is denatured is known as the melting point, though it is an inaccurate term as it has very little to do with a traditional melting point.
The information gathered can be used to infer the presence and identity of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. This is because G-C base pairing have 3 hydrogen bonds between them while A-T base pairs have only 2. DNA with a higher G-C content, whether because of its source 0.00) or, as previously mentioned, because of SNPs, will have a higher melting temperature than DNA with a higher A-T content.


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