On joint maximum-likelihood estimation of PCR efficiency and initial amount of target

We consider the problem of estimating unknown parameters of the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) from noisy observations. The joint ML estimator of the RT-PCR efficiency and the initial number of DNA target molecules is derived. The mean-square error performance of the estimator is studied via simulations. The simulation results indicate that the proposed estimator significantly outperforms a competing technique.