Biosensor
hideA biosensor is a device for the detection of an analyte that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector component.
It consists of 3 parts:
The most widespread example of a commercial biosensor is the blood glucose biosensor, which uses the enzyme glucose oxidase to break blood glucose down. In doing so it first oxidizes glucose and uses two electrons to reduce the FAD (a component of the enzyme) to FADH2. This in turn is oxidized by the electrode (accepting two electrons from the electrode) in a number of steps. The resulting current is a measure of the concentration of glucose. In this case, the electrode is the transducer and the enzyme is the biologically active component.
Recently, arrays of many different detector molecules have been applied in so called electronic nose devices, where the pattern of response from the detectors is used to fingerprint a substance. Current commercial electronic noses, however, do not use biological elements.
A canary in a cage, as used by miners to warn of gas could be considered a biosensor. Many of today's biosensor applications are similar, in that they use organisms which respond to toxic substances at a much lower level than us to warn us of their presence. Such devices can be used in environmental monitoring, trace gas detection and in water treatment facilities.
For more information about Biosensor, read the full article at
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News tagged with biosensor
Magnetic Nanotags Spot Cancer in Mice Earlier Than Current Methods
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 17, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an innovative biosensor chip developed by Stanford University ...
Implantable Glucose Sensor Could Spell Relief for Millions of Diabetics (w/ Video)
Nov 09, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- UConn researchers have developed a tiny wireless device that can be inserted under a patient?s skin to monitor blood glucose levels over a period of several months.
Biosensor to help enlist cancer resistance fighters?
Oct 23, 2009 |
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0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A powerful new biosensor developed by European researchers will help identify cells in the immune system that actively suppress tumour growth, then put them to use. Enlisting the patient?s ...
Magnetic nanotags spot cancer in mice earlier than methods now in clinical use
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (8) |
0
Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an innovative biosensor chip developed by Stanford University ...
A flash of light turns graphene into a biosensor
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Sep 23, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Biomedical researchers suspect graphene, a novel nanomaterial made of sheets of single carbon atoms, would be useful in a variety of applications. But no one had studied the interaction between ...
New biosensor can detect bacteria instantaneously
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Sep 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
A research group from the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona, Spain, has developed a biosensor that can immediately detect very low levels of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. ...
A safe approach to nanotechnology: Boiling up zinc oxide nanorods without toxic solvents
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
A non-toxic and environmentally friendly way to make tiny nanorods of zinc oxide has been developed for the first time by researchers in Saudi Arabia. The approach, described in the current issue of the International Journal of ...
Chemists explain the switchboards in our cells
Aug 03, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Our cells are controlled by billions of molecular "switches" and chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a theory that explains how these molecules work. Their findings may significantly help efforts to ...
Toxin detection as close as an inkjet printer
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Jul 13, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
If that office inkjet printer has become just another fixture, it's time to take a fresh look at it. Similar technology may soon be used to develop paper-based biosensors that can detect certain harmful toxins ...
Implant monitors tumors
May 13, 2009 |
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0
Surgical removal of a tissue sample is now the standard for diagnosing cancer. Such procedures, known as biopsies, are accurate but only offer a snapshot of the tumor at a single moment in time.
Nanoneedle is small in size, but huge in applications
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Apr 28, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a membrane-penetrating nanoneedle for the targeted delivery of one or more molecules into the cytoplasm or the nucleus of living cells. ...
A new twist in the sex life of silk worms
Apr 23, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- A quirk in the sex life of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) has been revealed by a team of CSIRO Food Futures Flagship scientists led by Dr Alisha Anderson.
New biosensor for most serious form of Listeria food poisoning bacteria
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Apr 23, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Indiana are reporting development of a new biosensor for use in a faster, more sensitive test for detecting the deadliest strain of Listeria food poisoning bacteria. That microbe ...
Bridging the gap in nanoantennas
Apr 20, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
1
In a recent publication in Nature Photonics, a joint team of researchers at CIC nanoGUNE, Donostia International Physics Center DIPC, Centro de Física de Materiales of CSIC/UPV-EHU in San Sebastian (Spain ...
