Opportunities in nano-structured metal oxides based biosensors

Nanomaterials are presently at the critical stage of the next technological revolution in solid-state electronics and are emerging as new structural materials, to serve as systems for controlled drug delivery, biomolecular electronics and are considered to have considerable impact in practically all domains of science. Among the various types of nanomaterials that have been developed, nanostructured metal oxides (NSMOs) have recently aroused much interest as immobilizing matrices for biosensors development. The unique properties of NSMOs offer excellent prospects for interfacing biological recognition events with electronic signal transduction and for designing a new generation of bioelectronics devices that may exhibit novel functions. Among the NSMOs, biocompatible zirconia (ZrO2) and its composite especially with chitosan and carbon nanotubes are technologically important exhibits high bioactivity for biomolecules with rapid rand enhanced electrochemical signal. Efforts are being continuously made to explore the prospects and future challenges of NSMOs for the development of biosensing devices.