Patent ID: 7968290

Claim:
A method of detecting and quantifying a target DNA or RNA sequence in a sample which comprises providing an insoluble carrier having on the surface thereof a polymer substance containing a first unit having a phosphorylcholine group and a second unit having a carboxylic acid-derived group having an electron-attractive substituent bound to a carbonyl group; (a) immobilizing a primer for a given fragment of the target DNA or RNA sequence onto the surface of the insoluble carrier to give a primer-immobilized carrier; (b) adding the sample, a polymerase selected from the group consisting of a DNA polymerase, an RNA polymerase, and a reverse transcriptase, and nucleotide monomers onto the primer-immobilized carrier, heating the sample to a thermal denaturation temperature for the given fragment of the target DNA or RNA sequence before or after adding the sample onto the primer-immobilized carrier, wherein the polymerase and the nucleotide monomers are heated to the thermal denaturation temperature before adding the polymerase and the nucleotide monomers onto the primer-immobilized carrier; (c) incubating the primer and the sample at an annealing temperature which is predetermined for the given fragment; and (d) adjusting the temperature to a predetermined temperature which will result in an elongated polynucleotide chain in the presence of the target DNA or RNA sequence; and detecting the presence of the elongated polynucleotide chain using a chromogenic reagent which adsorbs to the elongated polynucleotide chain, and quantifying the amount of the elongated polynucleotide chain based on the degree of adsorption or the degree of coloration.