Patent ID: 7381569

Claim:
A system comprising: a device comprising a plurality of detection chambers, channel means in fluid communication with each of the plurality of detection chambers, wherein the channel means provides a plurality of dead-end fluid connections to the plurality of detection chambers, wherein one dead-end fluid connection is provided to each of the plurality of detection chambers, and each dead-end fluid connection provides the sole fluid access to its respective detection chamber such that fluid cannot enter or exit the respective detection chamber by any other way than through the respective dead-end fluid connection, non-immobilized detection reagents provided in each of the plurality of detection chambers, the non-immobilized detection reagents comprising at least one binding polymer, wherein the non-immobilized detection reagents are effective to selectively bind with a target nucleic acid sequence under conditions effective to produce a detectable fluorescent signal when a target nucleic acid sequence is present in a liquid sample in at least one of the plurality of detection chambers; and a fluorescence detector for detecting a fluorescent signal, the fluorescence detector configured for optical communication with one or more of the plurality of detection chambers.