Patent ID: 7504215

Claim:
A method of detecting the presence of an RNA of interest, said method comprising the following steps: providing a sample comprising RNA which may or may not have said RNA of interest; ligating said RNA to a labeling reagent having the formula wherein B is a heterocyclic moiety; X is selected from the group consisting of HO—, PO 4 2− —, P 2 O 7 3− —, P 3 O 10 4− —, OP(S)O 2 2− and adenosine-(5′)-P 2 O 7 = — having appropriate counter ions selected from the group consisting of as H + , Li + , Na + , NH4 + or K + ; Y is selected from the group consisting of —H, —OH, —OR, —SR, —NHR, or a halogen; L is a linker group selected from the group consisting of —CH 2 —CH(OH)—CH 2 —(O—CH 2 —CH 2 ) 3 —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —CH 2 —NH— and —CH 2 —CH(OPO 3 = )—CH 2 —(O—CH 2 —CH 2 ) 3 —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —CH 2 —NH—; and Sig is a detectable moiety to provide labeled RNAs; providing a nucleic acid array having probes directed to said RNA of interest; hybridizing the labeled RNAs to said nucleic acid array; and determining the extent of hybridization to said probes to determine the presence of said RNA of interest.