Methods of ranking oligonucleotides for specificity using wash dissociation histories

A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer having a processor and a memory connected to the processor,

• said computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having a computer program mechanism encoded thereon,
• wherein the computer program mechanism may be loaded into the memory of the computer and cause the processor to execute the steps of:
• comparing a dissociation curve representing dissociation, over time, of molecules of said first polynucleotide sample from molecules of a given probe to a reference dissociation curve representing dissociation, over time, of molecules of a second polynucleotide sample from molecules of a reference probe,
• wherein said comparing of the dissociation curve to the reference dissociation curve comprises determining the value of a metric representing the difference between the dissociation curve and the reference dissociation curve.

A method for determining the specificity with which molecules of a give n probe hybridize to a particular polynucleotide in a first polynucleotide sample that comprises a mixture of polynucleotide sequences, said method comprising:

• comparing
• a dissociation curve representing dissociation, over time, of molecules of said first polynucleotide sample from molecules of the given probe to
• a reference dissociation curve representing dissociation, over time, of molecules of a second polynucleotide sample from molecules of a reference probe,
• wherein said comprising of the dissociation curve to the reference dissociation curve comprises determining the value of a metric representing the difference between the dissociation curve and the reference dissociation curve.