US Patent 7919247 Simultaneous quantification of nucleic acids in diseased cells

A process for assessing mitochondrial toxicity of a compound that includes contacting nucleic acids from a host with an amplification reaction mixture that contains at least two primers that provide detectable signals, wherein:a first primer provides a first detectable signal upon amplification of a host mitochondrial nucleic acid;a second primer provides a second detectable signal upon amplification of a host nuclear nucleic acid; andcomparing the first and second detectable signals.