Finally, what will be the future history of digital PCR? Will its
use continue to expand exponentially? Will considerations of cost
and throughput be overcome? What will be its place relative to
real-time PCR and next-generation sequencing? Will other digital
or non-digital non-PCR methods for detection be developed?
Already digital PCR for rare targets can sometimes be performed
using current instruments for real-time PCR, and next-generation
sequencing can be used both for single molecule analysis and target
quantification. Undoubtedly, the coming years will be both interesting
and productive.