Method for detecting the presence of a nucleic acid in a sample

A method for detecting the presence of a nucleic acid in a sample, the method comprising performing within a housing of a self-contained, stand-alone analyzer the automated steps of:

• a) contacting the sample with a solid support such that a complex comprising the nucleic acid and the solid support is formed in the sample, wherein the solid support comprises a magnetically-responsive particle, and wherein the complex is suspended in a fluid component of the sample;
• b) after step a), moving one or more permanent magnets of the analzyer from a down position to an up position relative to the sample, such that the sample is subjected to at least one magnetic field when the one or more magnets are in the up position, wherein the one or more magnets have no substantial effect on the solid support when the one or more magnets are in the down position;
• c) while the sample is subjected to the at least one magnetic field, aspirating at least a portion of the fluid component of the sample from the complex;
• d) after step c), washing the solid support one or more times with a wash buffer, thereby providing a purified form of the nucleic acid;
• e) forming a reaction mixture with a pipette assembly, wherein the reaction mixture comprises the purified form of the nucleic acid and all reagents required to perform a nucleic acid amplification;
• f) synthesizing amplification products in the reaction mixture, each of the amplification products comprising a nucleotide sequence contained in the nucleic acid or its complement;
• g) exposing an amplification product that is one of the amplification products synthesized in step f) to a probe having a label, such that a hybrid comprising the probe and the amplification product is formed in solution in a mixture containing the probe and the amplification products;
• and
• h) in the mixture of step g), detecting the label after formation of the hybrid, wherein the formation of the hybrid in the mixture is an indication of the presence of the nucleic acid in the sample.