Diffraction-based diagnostic devices

1. A biosensor, comprising:

a substrate member;

a receptive material layer covering a side of said substrate member, said receptive material being specific for an analyte of interest;

a pattern of at least one active area comprising said receptive material and optionally a crosslinking agent and at least one inactive area comprising said receptive material and crosslinking agent, said receptive material in said inactive area rendered inactive by said crosslinking agent;

wherein said active and inactive areas are defined in a masking process wherein the crosslinking agent is applied over said receptive material layer and a mask is then placed over said substrate member prior to exposing said substrate member to a stimulus for activating said crosslinking agent, areas underlying shielded regions of the mask defining said active areas and areas exposed by the mask having the crosslinking agent activated by the stimulus and defining said inactive areas, said crosslinking agent only crosslinked in said inactive areas to form an inactivating crosslinking agent; and

wherein when said biosensor is exposed to a medium containing said analyte of interest, the analyte binds to said receptive material in said active areas and facilitates subsequent diffraction of transmitted or reflected light in a diffraction pattern corresponding to said active areas.

2. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said pattern of active and inactive areas comprises a plurality of said active areas and a plurality of said inactive areas defined by said masking process.

3. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said active areas lack a portion of said crosslinking agent removed in a washing process.

4. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said crosslinking comprises a homobifunctional agent in which both ends of said agent are photosensitive, said stimulus being a light source at a wavelength sufficient to activate said ends of said cross-linking agent.

5. The biosensor as in claim 4 , wherein said crosslinking agent comprises (bis-[β-(4-azidosalicylamido)ethyl]disulfide).

6. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said substrate comprises a material from the list of materials consisting of plastics, metal coated plastics and glass, functionalized plastics and glass, silicon wafers, glass, and foils.

7. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said substrate member comprises a polymer film coated with a metal.

8. The biosensor as in claim 7 , wherein said polymer film comprises polyethylene-terephthalate.

9. The biosensor as in claim 7 , wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, chromium, nickel, platinum, aluminum, iron, copper, gold oxide, titanium, titanium oxide, chromium oxide or zirconium.

10. The biosensor as in claim 7 , wherein said metal is gold.

11. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said diffraction pattern is visible to the naked eye.

12. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said receptive material is at least one of antigens, antibodies, nucleotides, chelators, enzymes, bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses, bacterial pili, bacterial flagellar materials, nucleic acids, polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, metals, hormones, aptamers, peptides, and respective receptors for said materials.

13. The biosensor as in claim 1 , wherein said analyte of interest is at least one of a bacteria, yeast, fungus, virus, rheumatoid factor, IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD, and IgE antibodies, carcinoembryonic antigen, streptococcus Group A antigen, viral antigens, antigens associated with autoimmune disease, allergens, tumor antigens, streptococcus group B antigen, HIV I or HIV II antigen, antibodies viruses, antigens specific to RSV, an antibody, antigen, enzyme, hormone, polysaccharide, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, drug, nucleic acid, Neisseria meningitides groups A, B, C, Y and W sub 135, Streptococcus pneumoniae, E. coli K1, Haemophilus influenza type A/B, an antigen derived from microorganisms, PZA and CRP antigens, a hapten, a drug of abuse, a therapeutic drug, an environmental agents, or antigens specific to Hepatitis.