Negative Control
An analytical control that consists of the reagents used in various stages of testing without the introduction of sample; no results are expected from a negative control.
NOTE For DNA testing, negative controls include extraction blanks/reagent blanks and amplification blanks. A negative control in DNA testing is used to detect contamination introduced into the assay during the testing process via reagents, disposables, or handling errors (which may impact the results observed from samples tested at the same time).