Patent ID: 7521184

Claim:
A method for determining the concentration of a double stranded nucleic acid molecule in a biological sample, comprising: (a) obtaining a biological sample from a subject; (b) assaying a first portion of the sample for the concentration of any unhybridized single stranded component of the double stranded nucleic acid molecule under conditions suitable to determine the concentration of the unhybridized single stranded component in the sample; (c) processing a second portion of the sample under conditions suitable for any double stranded nucleic acid molecule present in the sample to disassociate into one or more single stranded components; (d) assaying the second portion for the concentration of any disassociated single stranded component of the double stranded nucleic acid molecule under conditions suitable to determine the concentration of the disassociated single stranded component in the sample; and (e) comparing the concentration of the unhybridized single stranded component to the concentration of the disassociated single stranded component under conditions suitable to determine the concentration of the double stranded nucleic acid molecule in the sample.