Abstract: This invention relates to a nucleic acid analyzer comprising: reaction containers capable of containing nucleic-acid-containing samples and reagents; an incubation mechanism capable of controlling temperatures of reaction containers set at different levels; an analysis mechanism for analyzing the samples contained in the reaction containers; and a transport mechanism for transporting a reaction container. In accordance with the assay technique to be performed on a nucleic-acid-containing sample, the transport mechanism transports a reaction container to a given incubation mechanism in a given order. The reaction container subjected to the process of sample preparation is transported to the analysis mechanism at a given time and the sample is analyzed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a means of determining the presence or absence of chromosomal abnormalities with high reliability and high specificity in a gene examination in which a test sample is compared with a standard sample in terms of changes in quantitative ratios of alleles (particularly when test results are close to the threshold). In the present invention, alleles each of which exhibits quantitative changes when compared with those in a standard sample are identified based on quantitative changes in alleles in two or more and preferably three or more linked polymorphism sites. Then, the presence or absence of chromosomal abnormalities is determined based on the occurrence frequency of a combination of the alleles when the allele combination is considered as a haplotype.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an automatic analyzer that includes one or more pipetting probes for pipetting reagents or samples to be examined, one or more pipetting-probe-transferring means for transferring the probes and one or more washing tubs installed on the transfer paths of the probes and having structure permitting the probes to pass therethrough. The washing tub has washing-water-discharging orifices for discharging washing water and air-jetting orifices for jetting out air.

Abstract: It is intended to provide a method of efficient, high-precision quantitative analysis of a gene region with plural possible sequences by simultaneously separating and detecting standard and measurement nucleic acids overlapping in their detection times. The present invention provides a method of quantitative analysis of a gene region with plural possible sequences, comprising separately labeling a standard nucleic acid sample and a measurement nucleic acid sample with substances of different molecular weights and simultaneously separating and detecting nucleic acid fragments in the gene regions derived from the standard nucleic acid sample and from the measurement nucleic acid sample, thereby quantitatively analyzing the nucleic acid fragments.