Patent ID: 7838236

Claim:
A method for detecting more than one nucleic acid in a sample, said method comprising: contacting said sample with a first RNA-containing probe which is capable of hybridising to a first nucleic acid and a second RNA-containing probe which is capable of hybridising to a second nucleic acid, wherein at least one adenosine in said first or said second RNA-containing probe is a modified form of adenosine, the contacting occurring under conditions such that the first RNA-containing probe will bind to any first nucleic acid present in the sample, and the second RNA-containing probe will bind to any second nucleic acid present in the sample, subjecting any nucleic acid/probe complex to conditions under which RNA-containing probe bound to nucleic acid is hydrolysed to generate adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and/or modified adenosine monophosphate (AMP m ), phosphorylating any AMP and AMP m present to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or modified adenosine triphosphate (ATP m ) respectively, detecting ATP or ATP m using a bioluminescent signalling system which produces a different signal when reacting with ATP m as compared to ATP, and determining the nature of the signal so produced and relating this to the presence of said first nucleic acid and said second nucleic acid in the sample.