Patent ID: 6979536

Claim:
A method for determining the presence or amount of a nucleic acid A, comprising: (a) forming a triple stranded complex between said nucleic acid A, a nucleic acid A binding probe B, said nucleic acid A binding probe B having a base sequence and a binding region which binds to nucleic acid A, and one or more nucleic acid A binding probes C, wherein said one or more nucleic acid A binding probes C, in the aggregate, comprise a base sequence different from the base sequence of nucleic acid A binding probe B and an aggregate binding region wherein said aggregate binding region, which binds to nucleic acid A, is longer as compared with the binding region of probe B; and (b) determining the presence or amount of said triple stranded complex as an indication of the presence or amount of nucleic acid A, and wherein said triple stranded complex comprises two different nucleic acid A binding probes C which bind to different regions of nucleic acid A in the triple stranded region.