Abstract :
What Are Biosensors?
A Biosensor is a device that is made up
of a bioreceptor and a trans-ducer and is used to convert a biological response
into an electrical signal.
This device enables one to measure the
target analyte without using reagents and also to determine the concentration
of substances and other parameters of biological interest even where they do
not utilise a biological system directly.
This device is normally used in glucose monitoring in
diabetes patients, detection of pesticides and river water contaminants and
Detection of toxic metabolites such as mycotoxins among others.
Present Applications of Biosensors
Medical Care (both clinical and
laboratory use)
The determination of food quality
The detection of environmental
pollutants
Industrial Process Control
Biosensors in process control will be
able to measure materials in the process flow of temperature, pressure and the
acidity readings.
The development of biosensors in
industry can improve manufacturing techniques, which would allow for a wider
range of sensing molecules to be produced at a cheaper rate.
In the field of medicine, tumor cells
are used as a biosensor to monitor chemotherapeutic drug susceptibilities.
Biosensors also play a role in the
manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and replacement organs such as an artificial
pancreas for diabetics.
Future development
Since the development of the glucose
sensor by Clark and Lyons in 1962, generally recognized as the first biosensor, many types of
sensors have been developed in which a physical or chemical transducer is
provided with a layer containing a biological sensing element.
The resulting device is called a
biosensor, aimed to produce an electronic signal as a function of the concentration of a chemical
or biochemical constituent of a liquid, not necessarily of biological origin.
Among the many proposed concepts, the
integration of biologically active materials with a silicon chip is one of the most intriguing
approaches, because it seems the most comprehensive integration between biology
and electronics.
In this paper the resulting biochips,
mainly based on the field-effect principle as the coupling mechanism between
the two domains, will be described and discussed with an outlook on the future.
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