Patent ID: 7070933

Claim:
A hybridization probe for detecting a target polynucleotide, comprising: (a) a loop comprising a target-complementary sequence of bases joined to a loop backbone, said target-complementary sequence of bases extending from a first boundary to a second boundary; (b) a first arm joined to said target-complementary sequence of bases at said first boundary through a first arm linkage, said first arm comprising a first arm sequence of bases joined to a first arm backbone; (c) a second arm joined to said target-complementary sequence of bases at said second boundary through a second arm linkage, said second arm comprising a second arm sequence of bases joined to a second arm backbone; wherein both of said first arm linkage and said second arm linkage are inversion linkages different from each other, said hybridization probe being a dual inversion probe, each of said inversion linkages optionally including a non-nucleotide linker, and (d) at least one detectable label joined to said loop, said first arm, said second arm or, said non-nucleotide linker, wherein said first arm and said second arm interact with each other in the absence of said target polynucleotide to form a stem duplex.