Simulate temperature gradients to find optimal annealing temperatures.
primerlab tm-gradient --primers FILE [OPTIONS]The tm-gradient command simulates primer binding efficiency across a temperature range using nearest-neighbor thermodynamics. It predicts the optimal annealing temperature for your primer set.
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
--primers, -p |
Yes | Path to primers JSON file |
--template, -t |
No | Optional template FASTA for context |
--min-temp |
No | Minimum temperature °C (default: 50.0) |
--max-temp |
No | Maximum temperature °C (default: 72.0) |
--step |
No | Temperature step °C (default: 0.5) |
--output, -o |
No | Output directory (default: tm_gradient_output) |
--format |
No | Report format: json, markdown, csv (default: json) |
primerlab tm-gradient --primers primers.jsonprimerlab tm-gradient \
--primers primers.json \
--min-temp 55 \
--max-temp 68 \
--step 0.5primerlab tm-gradient \
--primers primers.json \
--output results/ \
--format markdownprimerlab tm-gradient \
--primers primers.json \
--format csv[
{"name": "Gene1", "forward": "ATGCGATCGATCGATCGATCG", "reverse": "CGATCGATCGATCGATCGCAT"},
{"name": "Gene2", "forward": "GCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGC", "reverse": "ATATATATATATATATATATAT"}
]🌡️ Tm Gradient Simulation (v0.4.3)
==================================================
📂 Loading primers: primers.json
🔬 Temperature range: 50.0°C - 72.0°C (step 0.5°C)
⏳ Simulating Tm gradient for 4 primers...
==================================================
🎯 Optimal Annealing Temperature: 58.5°C
Recommended Range: 55.0°C - 62.0°C
📊 Per-Primer Results:
Gene1_fwd: Tm=62.3°C, Optimal=57.3°C (Grade A)
Gene1_rev: Tm=60.8°C, Optimal=55.8°C (Grade A)
Gene2_fwd: Tm=68.5°C, Optimal=63.5°C (Grade B)
Gene2_rev: Tm=52.1°C, Optimal=47.1°C (Grade C)
📁 Reports saved to: tm_gradient_output
• tm_gradient.json
tm_gradient.json- Full JSON data with efficiency curvestm_gradient_report.md- Markdown summarytm_gradient.csv- CSV data for analysis
Uses Santa Lucia (1998) nearest-neighbor parameters:
- ΔH and ΔS for each dinucleotide pair
- Salt correction for Na+ concentration
- Two-state binding model
| Grade | Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| A | ≥90 | Wide temperature tolerance |
| B | 80-89 | Good stability |
| C | 70-79 | Moderate sensitivity |
| D | 60-69 | Narrow window |
| F | <60 | Redesign recommended |