Patent ID: 8852504

Claim:
An apparatus for detecting, quantifying or identifying a microorganism comprising (a) a container with at least one chamber; (b) a medium within the chamber of the container, wherein said medium is supplemented with nutrients for supporting growth of a microorganism; and (c) at least one colorimetric sensing element placed in, or proximate to, the medium, wherein said sensing element includes a substrate comprising a plurality of chemoresponsive dyes in a predetermined pattern combination, wherein the sensing element comprises at least two different classes of dyes selected from the group of Lewis acid/base dyes, Bronsted acid or base dyes; or zwitterionic solvatochromic dyes, wherein each of said dyes comprises a chromophore and wherein the combination of the dyes have a distinct and direct spectroscopic, transmission, or reflectance response to distinct analytes produced by the microorganism which is indicative of the presence and identity of the microorganism.