Patent ID: 7785786

Claim:
A method for identifying a nucleic acid in a sample, comprising: (a) contacting the nucleic acid in the sample with an oligonucleotide that is specific for the nucleic acid in the sample and is labeled with at least a first fluorescent dye; (b) contacting the nucleic acid in the sample with a second fluorescent dye that is different from the first fluorescent dye, wherein said second fluorescent dye interacts with the nucleic acid and is not covalently linked to an oligonucleotide; (c) amplifying the nucleic acid if present in the sample; (d) detecting the nucleic acid if present in the sample by observing fluorescence from the first fluorescent dye after said oligonucleotide hybridizes to said amplified nucleic acid; and determining the melting temperature of the amplified nucleic acid by measuring the fluorescence of the second fluorescent dye, and wherein there is no fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the first fluorescent dye that labels the oligonucleotide and the second fluorescent dye.