Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) has become the de facto standard for nucleic acid quantification. This achievement is due in large part to its sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, large dynamic range of linear quantification, and its speed. The qPCR technology has matured to a ready-to-use commonly available method in most molecular biology laboratories. Nevertheless, the reliability of the final quantification result depends heavily on all elements in the workflow, such as the quality of the input template (integrity and absence of inhibitors), the PCR assay (specificity, efficiency, limit of detection), and normalization strategy (validated reference genes). more