Patent ID: 7361464

Claim:
A method for detecting molecules expressing a selected epitope in a sample comprising: a) immobilizing a molecule expressing a selected epitope in a sample to a selected surface; b) contacting the surface with an epitope detector that binds to the selected epitope so that the epitope detector binds to immobilized molecules on the surface which comprise the selected epitope, wherein the epitope detector i) is selected from the group consisting of: a single chain Fv for the selected epitope and a constrained epitope selected specific CDR, and ii) has an oligonucleotide attached to it, said oligonucleotide comprises an RNA promoter linked to a nucleotide sequence that is a template for an RNA transcript; c) producing an amplified RNA product by RNA amplification using the oligonucleotide as a substrate, and d) detecting any epitope detector bound to the surface by detecting amplified RNA product, wherein bound epitope detector is indicative of molecules expressing the selected epitope in the sample.