2.5. Capture Efficiency
The capture efficiency (Ec) was used to evaluate whether there is nucleic acid loss during the capture process by comparing the Ct shift between MADCAT and standard real-time PCR method using plasmid DNA. The two methods shared the same PCR composition and condition, except that the MADCAT method has additional capture and washing steps before amplification. The Ct values generated by standard real-time PCR (Ct0) and MADCAT (Ctc) were then used to calculate the capture efficiency, according to the following formula: Ec=2 ^ (Ct0- Ctc) * 100%.
2.6.Statistical Analysis
Basic statistical analysis, including the calculation of means, standard deviations and coefficient of variation was performed using Excel software (Microsoft, Bellevue, WA). Two-tailed Fisher’s exact tests and paired t tests were performed using GraphPad software version 8.1.1 (GraphPad, Inc., USA), with statistical significance set atP -value < 0.05.