Patent ID: 8067165

Claim:
A binary-probe composition for hybridizing to a target polynucleotide sequence comprising: (a) a probe comprising a target-specific portion and a clamp-specific portion wherein the target-specific portion is capable of sequence-specific binding to a target polynucleotide sequence; and (b) a clamp comprising two probe-specific portions and one or more covalently bound labels providing a detectable signal, and including nucleic acid analogs selected from a nucleobase analog, a sugar analog, and an internucleotide analog; wherein the two probe-specific portions of the clamp hybridize to the clamp-specific portion of the probe to form a triplex and the clamp does not hybridize to the target polynucleotide sequence; and wherein the clamp-specific portion of the probe remains bound to the probe-specific portion of the clamp during detection of the labels.