Patent ID: 7662751

Claim:
A detection apparatus for use in the detection of the presence of a selected pathogen in a sample comprising: a substrate with a detection region on a surface thereof, the detection region having microstructures consisting essentially of grooves formed therein that are capable of aligning a liquid crystal material in contact therewith, the width and depth of the grooves being in the range of 5 nm to 500 nm; the grooves are separated by ridges having a width of approximately 100 nm; the width and depth of the grooves being selected in size to be occupied by a selected pathogen and the width of the grooves being on the order of the size of the selected pathogen; a blocking layer on the surface of the detection region of the substrate that does not disrupt the alignment of liquid crystal material in contact therewith, the blocking layer blocking nonspecific adsorption of pathogens to the surface; and a binding agent on the surface of the detection region of the substrate, the binding agent specifically binding the selected pathogen.