DNA methylation analysis often incorporates bisulfite treatment of DNA in order to determine the methylation status of specific CpG regions. EpiTaq HS (for bisulfite-treated DNA) is a hot-start (HS) DNA polymerase that is optimized for PCR amplification of bisulfite-treated template DNA. PCR amplification of bisulfite-treated DNA often poses technical challenges for conventional polymerases due to the presence of uracils in the treated DNA. However, EpiTaq HS polymerase and other kit reagents allow for the adjustment of magnesium and dNTP concentrations to achieve optimal amplification efficiency and specificity, enabling the amplification of challenging targets.

EpiTaq HS is a hot-start PCR enzyme coupled with an anti-Taq antibody. Prior to high-temperature denaturation, the anti-Taq antibody suppresses polymerase activity, thereby preventing non-specific amplification as a result of mispriming or primer-dimer formation prior to PCR. The presence of the anti-Taq antibody allows for conventional PCR setup with no additional denaturation step.