A Few Questions that Should be Clarified in the Polymerase Chain Reaction

The polymerase chain reaction is one of the most useful technical advance and inventions in modern molecular biology. Developed in 1983 by Kary Mullis[1], PCR is now a common and indispensable technique used in medical and biology research labs for a variety of applications[2-3]. A large number of articles related to PCR are available on the internet and other places. People know well about the basic principle and are very familiar with the procedures of the PCR. But, some details were neglected on the numbers of the target sequence and other DNA strands number after 30 to 35 cycles of the PCR. In most papers, the number of newly synthesized DNA strands including target DNA and non target DNA is ambiguous and even wrong. In this paper, highlights were given to the theoretical number of target DNA number in details and the exact number of the target DNA number can be concluded by analysis.

Unveiling the origin of anomalous low-frequency Raman mode in CVD-grown monolayer WS_(2)

Substrates provide the necessary support for scientific explorations of numerous promising features and exciting potential applications in two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). To utilize substrate engineering to alter the properties of 2D TMDs and avoid introducing unwanted adverse effects, various experimental techniques, such as high-frequency Raman spectroscopy, have been used to understand the interactions between 2D TMDs and substrates. However, sample-substrate interaction in 2D TMDs is not yet fully understood due to the lack of systematic studies by techniques that are sensitive to 2D TMD-substrate interaction. This work systematically investigates the interaction between tungsten disulfide (WS_(2)) monolayers and substrates by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy, which is very sensitive to WS_(2)-substrate interaction. Strong coupling with substrates is clearly revealed in chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown monolayer WS_(2) by its low-wavenumber interface mode. It is demonstrated that the enhanced sample-substrate interaction leads to tensile strain on monolayer WS_(2), which is induced during the cooling process of CVD growth and could be released for monolayer WS_(2) sample after transfer or fabricated by an annealing-free method such as mechanical exfoliation. These results not only suggest the effectiveness of low-frequency Raman spectroscopy for probing sample-substrate interactions in 2D TMDs, but also provide guidance for the design of high-performance devices with the desired sample-substrate coupling strength based on 2D TMDs.