Patent ID: 6969761

Claim:
A method of separating one or more types of selected nucleic acids having at least two portions from other nucleic acids in a sample, the method comprising: providing two or more types of nanoparticles having oligonucleotides attached to them, the oligonucleotides being present on surface of the nanoparticles at a surface density of at least 10 picomoles/cm 2 , at least some of the oligonucleotides attached to each type of nanoparticles have a sequence complementary to at least one portion of a specific type of selected nucleic acid; and contacting the sample and nanoparticles under conditions effective to allow hybridization of at least some of the oligonucleotides on the nanoparticles with the selected nucleic acids so that the nanoparticles hybridized to the selected nucleic acids aggregate and precipitate.