Patent ID: 8097405

Claim:
A process for detecting a nucleic acid of interest in a sample, which process comprises: (A) providing a sample which may contain a nucleic acid of interest; (B) providing: (i) an oligo- or polynucleotide that comprises two segments, the first segment comprising a nucleotide sequence that is complementary to and capable of specifically hybridizing to and forming a hybrid with said nucleic acid of interest or a portion thereof, and the second segment comprising an operator sequence that is capable of binding to or complexing with a non-radioactively detectable protein; and (ii) a non-radioactively detectable protein which is non-radioactive and has a binding affinity to said operator sequence; (C) contacting a sample suspected of containing said nucleic acid of interest with said oligo- or polynucleotide (i) and said non-radioactively detectable protein (ii) to form a complex; and (D) detecting non-radioactively the presence of said non-radioactively detectable protein in said complex to detect said nucleic acid of interest.