“…The sequences of the forward primer, reverse primer, and TaqMan probe (PE Biosystems, Foster City, CA), respectively, were as follows: 5Ј-CTCCCCGTCTGTKCCT-TCTCATC-3Ј (HBVRT1F, nucleotides 1542-1564; K ϭ G or T), 5Ј-GGCGTTCACGGTGGTCTC-CATGC-3Ј (HBVRT1R, nucleotides 1625-1603), and 5Ј FAM-CCGTGTGCACTTCGCTTCACCTCTGC-TAMRA 3Ј (HBV1TAQ, nucleotides 1575-1600). Nucleotide sequence positions were numbered according to Ono et al 19 Standard plasmid DNA was purified by CsCl gradient ultracentrifugation and calibrated using the World Health Organization International Standard for HBV DNA (NIBSC, Potters Bar, UK). Tenfold, serially diluted HBV DNAs ranging from 2.4 ϫ 10 1 to 2.4 ϫ 10 10 IU/mL were used to generate a standard curve for each reaction.…”