Patent ID: 8377641

Claim:
A method for detecting hybridization of nucleic acid polymers comprising: a) incubating a first nucleic acid polymer complimentary to a second nucleic acid polymer having, attached thereto, a quencher compound of Formula 1: wherein R 1-6 on the conjugated ring system are individually an electron withdrawing group, alkyl group, aryl group, hydrogen, heteroaryl group, or a five or six member ring structure formed from the R 1 , R 2 pair, the R 3 , R 4 pair, the R 4 , R 5 pair, or the R 5 , R 6 pair; and wherein R 7 is an unsubstituted or substituted aryl or heteroaryl group, the aryl or heteroaryl group being selected from the group consisting of phenyl, xylyl, tolyl, pyridyl, and anilyl groups, with the proviso that the aryl group is not an unsubstituted phenyl or tolyl, and wherein the anilyl group is a group of Formula 2: wherein L and L′ are the same or different and are a C 1-10 group, —C 1-10 —O—R 8 , or —C 1-10 —O—R 9 , wherein C 1-10 is a C 1-10 alkyl group, and wherein R 8 and R 9 are independently a hydrogen, trityl, alkoxytrityl, silyl, cyanoethylphosphoramidite, or phosphoramidite with the proviso that L and L′ are not both methyl, and when L or L′ is ethyl, then the other is not hydroxyethyl, and wherein at least one of the first and second nucleic acid polymers comprises a fluorophore and fluorescence from the fluorophore can be quenched by the quencher compound of Formula 1; and b) measuring the fluorescence such that when the first and second nucleic acid polymers are hybridized, the fluorescence of the fluorophore is reduced.