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The fantastic journey of biosensors: How to combine biological components with physical detectors?
With the advancement of science and technology, the development of biosensors has become an important focus of modern science. These sensors combine biological components with physical detectors and have shown great potential, whether in medical care, environmental monitoring, or food safety. The working principle of biosensors is to detect analytes of interest through specific biometric components and convert the signal into measurable data through physical sensing components.
The core of a biosensor lies in its biological recognition component, which may be an enzyme, antibody or cell, which can specifically bind to the target analyte and produce a measurable signal.
Biosensors are designed to be tested quickly and easily at the sampling site or in the field. It usually consists of biometric elements, transducers (such as semiconductor materials or nanomaterials) and electronic systems including signal amplifiers, processors and displays. This structure enables biosensors to respond instantly and provide accurate data, which is critical for rapid response to emergencies.
Types of biometric components
Biological recognition elements in biosensors can be classified according to their interaction types with analytes, including antibodies-antigens, enzymes-ligands, nucleic acids, etc. These interactions provide system flexibility and diversity.
Antibody-antigen interaction
Immunosensors utilize the highly specific binding of antibodies to specific compounds or antigens. However, the use of antibodies also faces some challenges. For example, its binding capacity is strongly dependent on detection conditions, such as pH and temperature.
Artificial binding protein
To address some of the limitations of using antibodies in sensors, researchers are developing small artificial binding proteins. These binding proteins are not only small in size and highly stable, but can also be expressed at high yields in environments such as bacteria, making them particularly suitable for the development of biosensors.
Applications of enzymes
Enzymes are often used as biological recognition elements due to their specific binding abilities and catalytic activities. The function of an enzyme is to convert the analyte into a product that can be detected by the sensor without being consumed during the detection process.
Nucleic acid interaction
Sensors that use nucleic acids as biorecognition elements, such as gene sensors and antibody mimetic (aptamers) sensors, perform target recognition through specific non-covalent interactions. These nucleic acid sensors show great potential in monitoring specific DNA or RNA sequences.
How biosensors work
Biosensors can be classified according to their type of biosensor, such as electrochemical, biooptical, electronic, biopiezoelectric, etc. Each technology has its unique applications and advantages.
Electrochemical biosensor
Electrochemical biosensors are based on enzymes and work through reactions that directly or indirectly produce or consume electrons. This type of sensor usually contains three electrodes and can measure current or voltage at different potentials to achieve highly sensitive analysis.
Optical biosensor
Optical biosensors use changes in light to detect analytes, but these instruments often require complex intervention and instructions.
With the continuous advancement of biosensor technology, smaller and more efficient sensors are expected to be used in daily health monitoring and environmental monitoring in the future, providing more convenience to our lives.
The development of biosensors is leading us into a new era of medical and environmental monitoring. Through these cutting-edge technologies, we can monitor health conditions and environmental changes more timely and accurately. Will this change our lives in the future? What about the methods and directions of scientific research?
