Patent ID: 7790111

Claim:
A system for detecting interactions between at least a first material of interest and a second material of interest, said system comprising: one cavity for receiving and retaining at least said first and second materials of interest and said carrier fluid, said cavity having a bottom surface; a compressible, semi-permeable polymer gel material comprising carbon black particles; said compressible, semi-permeable material having an initial uncompressed state and a second compressed state indicating compression responsive to osmotic pressure acting on said compressible, semi-permeable material; a mixture including at least first and second materials of interest and a carrier fluid is positioned above the semi-permeable material; a top conductor and a bottom conductor, wherein the top conductor is positioned on a top surface of said compressible, semi-permeable material, and the bottom conductor is positioned at a bottom surface of said compressible, semi-permeable material, wherein said compressible, semi-permeable material has a conductance dependent on its compression state; an interface surface positioned between said mixture and said top conductor; a capacitance detector configured to monitor compression changes in said compressible, semi-permeable material by measuring the capacitance across said pair of conductors; and a pair of conductor lines connected to said top and bottom conductors and said capacitance detector, wherein said compressible, semi-permeable material, said mixture, said top and bottom conductors, said interface surface, said capacitance detector, and said pair of conductor lines are positioned inside said cavity.