Synthetic Hybrid Biosensors

Biosensors are analytical tools in which biological or biologically derived receptor molecules are used as recognition elements in conjunction with physico-chemical transduction mechanisms. Biosensors can be classified according to the bio-recognition process or the transduction mechanism employed. Bioaffinity sensors involve affinity reactions between the receptor and the target, while biocatalytic sensors employ the specific catalysis of the target analyte by the biological molecule. Depending on the transduction mechanism, biosensors can be divided in four broad types: electrochemical; optical; piezoelectric; and thermal. Biosensors find application in fields ranging from clinical and point-of-care diagnosis, medicine and drugs, process industries, environmental monitoring to defense and biowarfare. Present biosensor research is focused on developing more compact and easy-to-use devices while retaining the efficiency and sensitivity. Keywords: receptor; target; biorecognition; transducer; immobilization