BIOSENSORS

What is a Biosensor?

 A biosensor is a self-contained integrated device that is capable of providing specific quantitative or semi-quantitative analytic information using a biological recognition element which is in direct spatial contact with a transduction element - (IUPAC, 1996)

A biosensor is an analytical device incorporating a deliberate and intimate combination of a specific biologic element (that creates a recognition event) and a physical element (that transduces the recognition event) -(IEEE potentials magazine)

A basic biosensor model

EXAMPLE
BLOOD GLUCOSE METER

Working of glucose biosensor

 layer

1: metallic substrate layer 2: graphite layer layer 3: isolating layer layer 4: mediator modified membrane layer 5: immobilized enzyme membrane (GOD) layer 6: cellulose acetate membrane

Components of a biosensor

The biological receptors are extremely specific in their action: A biological receptor X will change a specific analyte A, not C, to another specific substance B,(not D), as illustrated in fig

coupling bioelement and transducer

Applications

 Glucose monitoring in diabetes patients historical market driver Medical diagnosis (both clinical and laboratory use)

Environmental applications e.g. the detection of pesticides and river water contaminants such as heavy metal ions
Remote sensing of airborne bacteria e.g. in counter-bioterrorist activities Routine analytical measurement of folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 and pantothenic acid as an alternative to microbiological assay Determination of drug residues in food, such as antibiotics and growth promoters, particularly meat and honey. Industrial Process Control Detection of toxic metabolites such as mycotoxins

Crime detection
Detection systems for biological warfare agents

Biosensors for the measurement of carbohydrates, alcohols, and acids are commercially available
Immunosensors have important potential in ensuring food safety by detecting pathogenic organisms in fresh meat, poultry, or fish. There are commercially available biosensors for wastewater quality control are biological oxygen demand (BOD)

Infectous disease biosensor

An integrated optical biosensor for diagnosis of tuberculosis and cholera by the Loa Alamos National Laboratory

Optical Biosensor for Continuous Rapid Detection of Health Threats.

Can detect up to 16 different health threats from e-coli bacteria to anthrax

Types of biosensors

Electrochemical biosensors
Potentiometric biosensors

Transducer output in the form of voltage

In the past the pH glass electrode was used as a physicochemical transducer The Nernst potential of the pH glass electrode is described by the Nicolsky-Eisenman equation

 Nowadays, semi conductor based physio-chemical transducers are more common, such as ISFETs and LAPS.

ISFET LAPS

 Amperometric biosensors
Amperometric biosensors function by the production of a current when a potential is applied between two electrodes. Amperometric biosensors are quite sensitive and more suited for mass production than the potentiometric ones.

The working electrode of the amperometric biosensor is usually either a noble metal or a screen-printed layer covered by the biorecognition component paste with an embedded enzyme

Impedimetric biosensors

Such devices follow either impedance (Z) or its components resistance (R) and capacitance (C);

Optical biosensor
Fiber optic Surface Plasmon Resonance

Acoustic biosensors
based on the detection of a change of mass density, elastic, viscoelastic, electric, or dielectric properties of a membrane made of chemically interactive materials in contact with a piezoelectric material Bulk Acoustic Wave transducers
Surface Acoustic Wave transducers Such sensors can be produced using standard photolithography and hence are inexpensive. Biosensors made with acoustic wave technology are sensitive, accurate, small, portable, robust, and have excellent aging characteristics.

Acoustic sensing process

SAW biosensor

Calorimetric biosensors
Many enzyme catalyzed reactions are exothermic, generating heat which may be used as a basis for measuring the rate of reaction and, hence, the analyte concentration.
Reactant Enzyme Cholesterol oxidase Chymotrypsin Heat output -DH (kJ mole-1) 53 4 - 16 80 100 67 10 - 30

Cholesterol Esters Glucose Hydrogen peroxide Penicillin G Peptides

Glucose oxidase
Catalase Penicillinase Trypsin

Starch
Sucrose Urea Uric acid

Amylase
Invertase Urease Uricase

8
20 61 49

Enzyme thermistor

Conclusion
The field of biosensors is rapidly growing Better than existing industrial analytical instruments for quantitative and qualitative analysis of biological elements Biosensors will be extensively used in the future for various applications In the last two decades, advances in MEMS have given rise to a whole new class of biosensors

There are some challenges in this field, some of them are: contamination, immobilization of biomolecules, sterilization, uniformity of biomolecule preparation, selectivity and detection range, cost

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