An overview of sensitivity and selectivity of biosensors for environmental applications

Abstract An increasing demand for continuous monitoring of ever-growing environmentally hazardous pollutants and high cost of the existing technology necessitate a clear need for advancement in biosensor technology with respect to its cost, detection time, and sensitivity. A fast, easily deployable, sensitive biosensor is the need of the hour. Though considerable technologies have been developed in the past yet the challenges like a novel sensor for diverse or complex set of environmental pollutants, interference of co-contaminants and other molecules, reliability-durability, and rapid deployment of sensor largely remain an area for further development. This chapter will highlight the key aspects of traditional versus advanced biosensor technologies including their sensitivity, selectivity, economic feasibility, and will also evaluate how rapidly they can be deployed and at what cost. The chapter will elaborate how new advanced technologies with their superior sensitivity and selectivity can play an important role in future environmental risk assessment and management strategies.