the invention disclosed here has several key elements : direct probe - on - sensor detection , mesh probe , and mesh reporter . furthermore , the mesh probe and reporter shall have some physical cross - linking between the polymer backbone , either covalently or non - covalently . in combination , this invention enables one to build an ultra - sensitive , low - cost , and highly portable system for molecular detection . among its many potential applications is a direct detection of nucleic acids in crude lysate in a multiplex format , without the requirements for nucleic acids extraction and amplification . such an improvement is likely to change the practice of genotyping and gene expression profiling done in a clinic setting . another application is an ultrasensitive eliza assay in a multiplex format .