Method for using unequal primer concentrations for generating nucleic acid amplification products

In a method for amplifying and detecting a target nucleic acid sequence in a test sample comprising the steps of:

• (a) forming an amplification mixture comprising a test sample, a first and a second primer sequence, and amplification reagents,
• (b) amplifying the target sequence to generate copies of the target sequence comprising an amplification product from the first and second primers;
• and
• (c) detecting the copies of the target sequence as an indication of the presence of the nucleic sequence in the test sample;
• wherein the improvement comprises providing the first primer sequence in 15% to 250% excess over the second primer and wherein a probe is hybridized to the amplification product from the first primer to form a hybrid complex and the hybrid complex is detected as an indication of the presence of the nucleic acid sequence in the test sample.