Patent ID: 7799522

Claim:
A double-stranded nucleic acid hybridization probe for a preselected nucleic acid target sequence consisting of a first oligonucleotide consisting essentially of a first sequence complementary to said target sequence, a second oligonucleotide comprising a second sequence that is complementary to said first sequence but is shorter than said first sequence by up to ten nucleotides, a fluorophore label attached to one of said first and second oligonucleotides, and a second label selected from the group consisting of a fluorescence quencher and a fluorescence acceptor attached to the other of said first and second oligonucleotides so as to interact with said fluorophore label when said oligonucleotides are hybridized to each other, said probe being capable of spontaneously hybridizing to said target sequence in less than 30 minutes at 25° C.