Patent ID: 7368281

Claim:
A sensor system for detecting biological pathogens, chemical agents, or other harmful or toxic species, the sensor system comprises: 1) an evanescent-field sensor comprising a substrate with a surface covered at least in-part with a bio- or chemo-responsive layer which forms a serially renewable sensing region; 2) an optical interrogation apparatus for monitoring at least a portion of said bio- or chemo-responsive layer, said optical interrogation apparatus comprising a light source, an optical delivery system, and a detection instrument; and 3) an air-fluid delivery system, comprising either macro or micro-fluidic passages designed to deliver biological or chemical analytes to at least a portion of said serially renewable sensing region, wherein said substrate having tensile strength and pliability can be supplied from a dispensing device as a single unit in a continuous fashion, and wherein said substrate being configurable to a fraction of its fully extended length along its longest dimension without breaking and can be retrieved from such configuration as a continuous body suitable for performing molecular interactive assays with the biological or chemical analytes to detect the biological pathogens, chemical agents, or other harmful or toxic species.