Patent ID: 7468249

Claim:
A method for detecting any one of multiple chromosomal disorders in a single assay, which method comprises the steps of: a. making a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) mixture by mixing in a vessel components comprising: (i) eukaryotic genomic DNA; (ii) a plurality of pairs of forward and reverse DNA primer oligonucleotides wherein one primer of each said pair is complementary to a 3′ sequence of a targeted segment of a first DNA strand of the eukaryotic DNA and the other primer is complementary to the 3′ sequence of the second strand of the targeted segment, the length of the segment of eukaryotic DNA being between about 50 and about 300 base pairs, wherein one of the primers of each pair has a detectable label attached to its 5′ end, wherein of said plurality of different pairs of primers there are pairs targeted to a segments of a selected different chromosomes of interest, each of which is indicative of a potential chromosomal disorder, and wherein one pair is targeted for a segment of a single control gene which is present on a chromosome other than one on which there is a targeted segment and does not target any chromosome segment that might be indicative of a potential aneuploidy; and (iii) PCR buffers and enzymes necessary to carry out PCR amplification; b. conducting a PCR for between about 5 and about 60 temperature cycles to create amplified PCR products; c. purifying said products of step (b) and obtaining single-stranded DNA having the detectable labels, d. contacting a microarray with products of step (c), which microarray has a plurality of spots that each contain DNA oligonucleotide probes having nucleotide sequences complementary to a nucleotide sequence of one of said strands of each of said targeted segments; e. hybridizing said DNA oligonucleotide probes and said PCR-amplified label-containing single-stranded products; f. detecting the presence and relative quantity of the PCR-amplified products hybridized to the microarray by imaging the microarray; and g. diagnosing whether or not a chromosomal disorder exists with respect to one or more of said selected different chromosomes by comparing said imaging of the relevant spots on said microarray for each said targeted segment of a selected chromosome to the imaging of spots relevant to said control gene to determine a ratio of such intensities for each of a plurality of said targeted segments, termed an I-ratio, then dividing each said I-ratio by an N-ratio obtained from similar testing of multiple samples of genomic DNA of the same gender known to be normal to obtain a C-factor for each, averaging all said C-factors to obtain an average C-factor, then adjusting each said I-ratio by said average C-factor, and then comparing each said adjusted I-ratio to the respective N-ratio to determine if a disorder exists.