Table 1. PCR inhibitors
| Inhibitor | Proposed mechanism | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium ions | Competing with Mg++ as polymerase cofactor | Bickley et al. (1996) |
| EDTA | Chelation of Mg++ ions | Rossen et al. (1992) |
| Exopolysaccharides | Binding to DNA polymerase | Monteiro et al. (1997) |
| Heparin | Binding to nucleic acids | Satsangi et al. (1994) |
| IgG | Binding to nucleic acids | Abu Al-Soud et al. (2000) |
| Lactoferrin | Release of iron ions | Abu Al-Soud and Rådström (2001) |
| Phenol | Denaturation of DNA polymerase | Katcher and Schwartz (1994) |
| Proteinases | Degradation of DNA polymerase | Powell et al. (1994) |
