by Introduction to Biosensors
Biosensors are analytical devices that use a biological detection system to detect the presence or concentration of biological components like proteins, DNA, medicines, etc. Typically, a biosensor is composed of a bio-recognition element and a transduction element. The bio-recognition part is constructed using living cells, tissues, antibodies, enzymes or nucleic acids to sense the presence of an analyte. The transduction element converts the signal produced due to recognition into a measurable electrical quantity like current, voltage or resistance.
Types of Biosensors
There are several types of biological sensors depending on the biological recognition element and transduction method used:
– Enzyme Biological sensors: These use enzymes as biological receptors which specifically react with the target analyte. Glucose biological sensors which use glucose oxidase enzyme are a common example.
– DNA Biological sensors: These utilize single-stranded DNA probes attached to a transducer surface which hybridize with a target DNA strand. This helps in detection of specific DNA sequences.
– Immunosensors: Antibodies or antigens are used as bioreceptors in immunosensors. They allow detection of various targets like drugs, proteins, toxins. Fluorescence-based immunosensors are gaining popularity.
– Living Cell Biological sensors: Whole cells or their components are the recognition elements. Microbial whole-cell biological sensors are finding applications in environmental monitoring and bioremediation.
– Tissue & Organ Biological sensors: Slices of tissues or organs are used as biological elements in these biological sensors to monitor drug responses and toxicity in near-physiological conditions.
Applications of Biological sensors in Healthcare
Due to the high sensitivity and specificity of biological sensors, they are extensively used in healthcare for diagnostic applications:
– Blood Glucose Monitoring: Glucose biological sensors are used in glucose meters which help diabetics easily monitor their blood sugar levels.
– Pregnancy Testing: Biological sensors detect human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone levels to confirm pregnancy within a week of conception.
– Cancer Detection: Novel DNA and immunosensors show promise in early detection of cancer by identifying tumor-specific DNA mutations or protein biomarkers.
– Infectious Disease Diagnosis: Pathogen detection biological sensors enable rapid diagnosis of infections like HIV, hepatitis C, influenza, etc. directly from clinical samples.
– Cardiac Marker Testing: Detection of cardiac markers like troponin and creatine kinase-MB isoenzyme levels through immunosensors helps in cardiac risk assessment and diagnosis.
– Drug Detection: Immunoassays coupled with biological sensors aid therapeutic drug monitoring and screening for illicit or banned drug abuse.
Biological sensors for Food Quality and Safety
Along with healthcare, biological sensors are increasingly important tools for food analysis:
– Pathogen Detection: Biological sensors identify bacteria, viruses and toxins that cause food poisoning like Salmonella, E. coli, Staphylococcus, etc. at trace levels.
– Allergen Testing: Allergens from food like peanuts, shellfish, eggs, milk pose risks to sensitive individuals. Biological sensors allow fast, cost-effective screening of food for allergens.
– Freshness and Spoilage Monitoring: Changes in gases, pH, enzyme levels during food decay can be monitored by biological sensors to check shelf-life and quality.
– Pesticide and Antibiotic Residue Testing: Exposure to excessive levels of pesticides and antibiotics approved for animal use may affect human health. Biological sensors enable sensitive testing of agricultural produce and meat products for such contaminant residues.
Emerging Areas in Biosensor Technology
New biosensing platforms integrating nanotechnology, microfluidics, wireless technologies, internet of things (IoT) are opening up futuristic applications:
– Wearable and Implantable Biological sensors: Miniaturized, wireless biological sensors can be worn as patches or embedded in clothing to continuously monitor health parameters like glucose, lactate, alcohol, drugs of abuse etc. Implantable biological sensors hold potential for advanced therapies.
– Paper-Based Microfluidic Biological sensors: Inexpensive, disposable biological sensors fabricated on paper substrates through printing offer a solution for point-of-care testing in resource-limited settings without electricity or trained personnel.
– Multiplexed Detection Arrays: High-throughput biological sensors using arrays of bioreceptors enable simultaneous detection of several analytes from a single sample. This holds promise for advanced disease profiling and environment monitoring.
With rapid advances, biological sensors are bound to transform biomedical diagnostics and food quality monitoring by making testing portable, decentralized and continuously accessible. The future depends on further research towards improving their sensitivity, stability, integration with smartphone readout and fabrication costs.
biological sensors represent an emerging field that integrates biology and technology for diverse applications from healthcare to food. Their high selectivity derived from biological recognition makes them powerful analytical tools with huge potential. Advances in biosensing platforms will make biomedical diagnostics more personalized, ubiquitous and cost-effective while assuring food safety. With continued innovation, biological sensors are expected to revolutionize human well-being in the years to come.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
