Patent ID: 8404441

Claim:
A method for detecting a DNA intercalator in an environmental sample, the method comprising: obtaining the environmental sample from an environment, the environmental sample having one or more DNA intercalators or being devoid of the one or more DNA intercalators; removing a portion of the environmental sample to obtain a control sample; conditioning the control sample such that the one or more DNA intercalators are removed therefrom, if present in the environmental sample, to form a conditioned control sample; contacting the environmental sample with double stranded nucleic acids having a strand linked to an electronic chemical array, wherein the environmental sample is unfiltered; contacting the conditioned control sample with double stranded nucleic acids having a strand linked to an electronic chemical array; detecting an electronic current generated by the environmental sample and an electronic current generated by the conditioned control sample; and determining a difference between the electronic current of the environmental sample and the conditioned control sample, said difference providing an indication of whether or not a DNA intercalator is present in the environmental sample.