Patent ID: 8105778

Claim:
A method for detecting an analyte in a sample by hybridization chain reaction, the method comprising: a) contacting the sample with a first nucleic acid hairpin monomer comprising: i) a first duplex region comprising second and third complementary stem regions, wherein the second complementary region is substantially complementary to a first complementary region of an initiator, ii) a first hairpin loop region at an end of the first duplex region, and iii) an initiator complement region that comprises a sticky end and that is substantially complementary to an initiation region of the initiator, b) contacting the sample with a second nucleic acid hairpin monomer comprising: i) a second duplex region comprising fourth and fifth complementary stem regions, ii) a second sticky end region that is substantially complementary to the first hairpin loop region of the first monomer, and iii) a second hairpin loop region that is substantially complementary to the sticky end of the initiator complement region of the first monomer; and c) detecting the analyte in the sample by identifying polymers comprising the first and second monomers, wherein the initiator is able to hybridize with the initiator complement region of the first monomer when analyte is present in the sample and wherein the first and second monomers polymerize upon the hybridization of the initiator with the initiator complement region of the first monomer.