Patent ID: 7713689

Claim:
A method of detecting a second member of a specific binding pair nucleotide in a sample, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a detector comprising: (i) a substrate having a surface portion; (ii) a linking layer on said surface portion; and (iii) a polymer layer formed on said linking layer by the process of surface-initiated polymerization of monomeric units thereon, with each of said monomeric units comprising a monomer core group having at least one protein-resistant head group coupled thereto, to thereby form a brush molecule on said surface portion; said brush molecule comprising a stem formed from the polymerization of said monomer core groups, and a plurality of branches formed from said head group projecting from said stem; and (iv) a first member of a specific binding pair coupled to said brush molecule; (b) contacting a sample suspected of containing said second member to said detector; and then (c) determining the presence or absence of binding of said second member to said first member, the presence of binding indicating the presence of said second member in said sample.