Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for distinguishing mutations, single nucleotide polymorphisms or other variants in a target nucleic acid sequence from the wild-type sequence in a sample. The method comprises the steps of surface binding magnetic beads via a sandwich hybridization in which a bead-bound probe hybridizes with one end of a target nucleic acid, and a surface-bound probe hybridizes with the other end of the same target nucleic acid, applying stringency on the hybridization by magnetic force and/or temperature, determining the amount of magnetic beads remaining attached to the surface, and correlating the amount of magnetic beads remaining attached to the surface with the presence and/or absence of mutations, SNP variants or other variants in the target nucleic acid.

Abstract: A method of determining a presence of target molecules in a body fluid (16) with cells comprises the steps of: lysing cells in the body fluid (16) for generating a lysate (17); mixing the lysate (16) with particles (36) with first detector molecules; binding target molecule to the particles through first detector molecules; exposing a substrate (38) with second detector molecules to the lysate (17); binding target molecules to the substrate through second detector molecules; detecting particles (36) attached to the substrate (36).