Patent ID: 6849397

Claim:
A method of identifying or classifying organisms on a species-specific or taxon-specific level comprising: (a) providing a surface plasmon resonance-capable substrate having immobilized thereon one or more species- or taxon-specific nucleic acid probes; then (b) contacting the substrate with a sample known to, or suspected of, containing target nucleic acids from an organism to be identified or classified, under conditions and for a time sufficient for sequence-specific hybridization to occur between target nucleic acids present in the sample and the nucleic acid probes immobilized on the substrate, wherein the nucleic acids present in the sample are fragmented before contacting the substrate to the sample; and then (c) analyzing the substrate by surface plasmon resonance, whereby sequence-specific hybridization between the target nucleic acids present in the sample and the nucleic acid probes immobilized on the substrate is detected; and then (d) identifying or classifying the organism from step (b) based upon the specific hybridization detected in step (c).