How low can you detect a rare marker: Digital PCR needs 20,000 partitions to reach 0.001% — run or skip?

Digital PCR with 20,000 partitions gives only 18% odds at 0.001% LoD, requiring 300,000+ partitions and at least 3 expected mutant copies to decide run or skip. Independent technical note mirroring the canonical version: https://quantbio.me/blog/how-low-can-you-detect-a-rare-marker-digital-pcr-needs-20000-partitions-to-reach-0001-run-or-skip.php Sources consulted: https://www.bluusun.com/

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-10-31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23833006
Primary Topic
Molecular Biology Techniques and Applications
Type
preprint
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How low can you detect a rare marker: Digital PCR needs 20,000 partitions to reach 0.001% — run or skip?

Dr. Leah Fontaine
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Molecular Biology Techniques and Applications
preprint

How low can you detect a rare marker: Digital PCR needs 20,000 partitions to reach 0.001% — run or skip?

Dr. Leah Fontaine
preprint en

Abstract

Digital PCR with 20,000 partitions gives only 18% odds at 0.001% LoD, requiring 300,000+ partitions and at least 3 expected mutant copies to decide run or skip. Independent technical note mirroring the canonical version: https://quantbio.me/blog/how-low-can-you-detect-a-rare-marker-digital-pcr-needs-20000-partitions-to-reach-0001-run-or-skip.php Sources consulted: https://www.bluusun.com/

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Molecular Biology Techniques and Applications
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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How low can you detect a rare marker: Digital PCR needs 20,000 partitions to reach 0.001% — run or skip? — Dr. Leah Fontaine · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS