The present invention relates to methods and systems for the detection of specific sequences of nucleic acids or oligonucleotides. It relates more particularly to a conjugated
enzyme based
assay system utilizing reflective and / or transmissive optical bio-discs for detection of specific sequences of nucleic acids. In the
assay according to the present invention, an
enzyme reaction is used to detect the presence of an
analyte (
DNA or
RNA) in a microchannel in an optical bio-disc. The
analyte is immobilized by hybridization with a specific capture probe on a capture layer on the surface and the
signal that is generated is localized and specific. The
signal can be in the form of a pellet, a fluorescent product, and / or a
colored product, and can be detected and quantified by an optical bio-disc reader utilized in conjunction with the inventions hereof. This
assay is thus quantitative in nature.