Patent ID: 7045362

Claim:
A method for detecting organic molecules in a probe substance, with the following process steps: providing a test system ( 300 ) comprising an array of test sites (T), each test site having specific probe molecules ( 320 ); providing an illumination system ( 100 ) for optically illuminating the array of test sites, the illumination system comprising an array of independently addressable illumination sources (B) that are arranged such that to each test site (T) of a sub-array of the test system ( 300 ) is assigned at least one illumination source that illuminates substantially only it; supplying the probe substance to the test system ( 300 ); illuminating the test sites (T) by addressing the respective illumination sources (B) assigned to them, according to a preselected pattern wherein, in at least one step, multiple test sites are illuminated simultaneously; reading out all illuminated test sites together after each step of the illumination pattern with a detection system ( 400 ) having no spatial resolution; and identifying those test sites (T) whose probe molecules ( 320 ) interact with the organic molecules ( 350 ) to be detected.