Patent ID: 7852482

Claim:
A multi-sensor device for detecting the presence of a target analyte, ligand, or molecule in a test fluid, comprising: a light transmissive substrate; a plurality of surface plasmon resonant (SPR) elements mounted on a surface of said substrate; a light source arranged to direct light into said SPR elements; and a detector arranged relative to said SPR elements to detect light transmitted therethrough; wherein the SPR elements are mounted randomly or non-randomly over a spatial domain of said surface, where the separation of the SPR elements is larger than their diameter; an exposed surface of each SPR element has a surface treatment, or a surface coating of a material, capable of binding with a target to be detected; each SPR element includes a light transmissive bead formed in a geometric shape that can sustain periodic boundary conditions for a stationary plasmon resonance wave to travel across the outer surface thereof; and wherein a pinhole is defined at the interface between each SPR element and the substrate.