The book covers from the very basic introduction on molecular biology and diagnostics to the protocols of advanced assays that can be offered by a diagnostic laboratory. There is detailed description on the requirements for setting up a laboratory. The chapter on laboratory mathematics will help the reader in preparation of common laboratory solutions. The book contains basic protocols to perform nucleic acid extraction from different sources. These protocols can be effortlessly applied to isolate high quality DNA and RNA from human blood and tissues. The book is profusely explained with various molecular diagnostic tools which are easy to understand and can be applied in diagnosis of different cancers. This book also presents with examples of biomarker detection protocols for specific cancer type using molecular diagnostic tools which can easily be reproduced. These protocols are very sensitive, cost effective and can be performed to provide faster and accurate diagnosis. The last part of the book deliberates on the quality assurance and quality control strategies of a molecular diagnostic laboratory. Special emphasis is made on specific guidelines to design quality manuals for a molecular diagnostic laboratory.

Kandarpa Kr. Saikia, Ph. D. Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India

1. Introduction to Molecular Diagnostics by Partha Pratim Sarma 2. General Calculation for Making Solutions in Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory by Pranjal Kr. Baruah 3. Basic Requirements for Setting-up a Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory by Kandarpa Kr. Saikia 4. Nucleic Acid Extraction Protocols by Partha Pratim Sarma and Kandarpa Kr. Saikia 5. Protocol to Perform Agarose Gel Electrophoresis by Sukanta Nath and Partha Pratim Sarma 6. Protocol for Qualitative PCR Using Genomic DNA or cdna as Template by Kandarpa Kr. Saikia and Sukanta Nath 7. DNA Sequence Analysis by Kandarpa Kr. Saikia and Vedant Vikrom Borah 8. Protocol for Synthesis of cDNA from Total RNA by Sukanta Nath and Partha Pratim Sarma 9. Protocol to Perform RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase PCR for Gene Expression Studies) by Kandarpa Kr. Saikia 10. Protocol to Perform Quantitative Real Time PCR (qpcr) by Partha Pratim Sarma and Sukanta Nath 11. Protocol to Perform FISH by Manoj Kr. Panigrahi 12. Examples of Biomarker Detection Protocols Using Molecular Diagnostic Tools -Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, Glioma and Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Molecular Markers by Kandarpa Kr. Saikia, Partha Pratim Sarma, Sukanta Nath and Dushyant Kumar 13. Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Molecular Diagnostics by Rupjyoti Kalita and Kandarpa Kr. Saikia