J. Biol. Today's World.

2013 Jan; 2 (1): 20-23

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Journal of Biology and Today's World

ISSN 2322-3308
http://www.journalbio.com
Received: 29 November 2012 • Accepted: 25 December 2012

Review

doi:10.15412/J.JBTW. 01020105

Biosensors: Functions and Applications

Reza Kazemi-Darsanaki, Azadeh Azizzadeh, Maryam Nourbakhsh, Golnaz Raeisi, Morteza
AzizollahiAliabadi*

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Science, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran
*correspondence should be addressed to AzizollahiAliabadi, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Science, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Lahijan, Iran; Tell: +98; Fax: +98; Email: [email protected].

ABSTRACT
The development of biosensors has been the focus of scientist's attention for current decades. Biosensors can centrally
serve as low-cost and highly able devices for this aim in addition to being applied in other day to day applications. Biosensor
is a device that consists of two central pieces: A bioreceptor besides a transducer. Bioreceptor is a biological factor that
recognizes the target analyte and transducer is a physicochemical detector component that converts the recognition event
into a measurable signal. Biomolecules such as enzymes, antibodies, receptors, organelles also microorganisms as well as
animal and plant cells or tissues have been applied as biological sensing factors. In this paper, we review current
development in use of biosensors as a diagnostic tool, as well as some future applications of biosensor technology.
Key words: Biosensors, Microbial biosensor, Transducer, Pathogen detection
Copyright © 2014 Reza Kazemi-Darsanaki. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.

1. INTRODUCTION cells or tissues have been used as biological sensing factors

T
he The history of biosensors began in the year 1962 (2). Microorganisms have been composed with a variety of
with the establishment of enzyme electrodes by the transducers such as amperometric, potentiometric,
scientist Leland C. Clark. Since then, experiment calorimetric, conductimetric, colorimetric, luminescence
communities from different areas such as VLSI, Physics, and fluorescence to construct biosensor devices (3, 6, 7). In
Chemistry, and Material Science have come together to this paper, we review recent development in use of
develop more sophisticated, reliable and mature biosensing biosensors as a diagnostic tool, as well as some future
devices for applications in the fields of medicine, applications of biosensor technology.
agriculture, biotechnology, as well as the military and
bioterrorism detection and prevention (1). Biosensor is a 2. Types of Biosensors
device that consists of two main parts: A bioreceptor and a 2.1. Resonant Biosensor
transducer. Bioreceptor is a biological component (tissue, In this type of biosensor, an acoustic wave transducer is
microorganisms, organelles, cell receptors, enzymes, coupled with an antibody (bio- factor). The analyte
antibodies, nucleic acids, etc) that determines the target molecule (or antigen) gets added to the membrane, the
analyte. Difference fraction is transducer, a mass of the membrane diversities. Resulting diversification
physicochemical detector component that changes the in the mass subsequently diversities the resonant frequency
detection event into a measurable signal (2, 3). The of the transducer. This frequency change is then measured
function of a biosensor depends on the biochemical (8).
specificity of the biologically active material. The choice
of the biological material will depend on a number of 2.2. Optical biosensors
factors via the specificity, storage, operational and The output transduced signal that is measured is light for
environmental stability (2, 4). Biosensors can have a this type of biosensor. The biosensor can be made based on
variety of biomedical, industry, and also military optical diffraction or electrochemiluminescence. Optical
applications. The major application so far is in blood transducers are particularly attractive for application to
glucose sensing because of its abundant market potential (1, direct (label-free) detection of bacteria. These sensors are
5). Biomolecules such as enzymes, antibodies, receptors, accomplished to discover minute conversions in the
organelles and microorganisms as well as animal and plant refractive index or thickness which happens when cells

20
 J. Biol. Today's World. 2013 Jan; 2 (1): 20-23
∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

fasten to receptors immobilized on the transducer surface. conductance/resistance of the solution. When
They correlate changes in concentration, mass or number electrochemical reactions create ions or electrons, the
of molecules to direct changes in characteristics of light. overall conductivity or resistivity of the solution has been
Several optical techniques have been reported for detection altering. This convert is ended and calibrated to an
of bacterial pathogens including: monomode dielectric appropriate degree. Conductance measurements have
waveguides, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), relatively low sensitivity (9).
ellipsometry, the resonant mirror and the interferometer etc 2.4.2. Amperometric Biosensors
(9-11). This is maybe the most common electrochemical discovery
approach applied in biosensors. This high sensitivity
2.2.1. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor biosensor can discover electroactive species present in
This is an evanescent area based optical sensors applying biological test samples. Amperometric biosensors produce
thin gold film for sensing approaches. The interaction a current proportional to the concentration of the substance
between analyte flowing over immobilized interactant on to be detected. The most common amperometric
gold surface is probed through the detection of reflection biosensors use the Clark Oxygen electrode (9, 11).
minima on photo-detector array sensors. SPR has
successfully been applied to the detection of pathogen 2.4.3. Potentiometric Biosensors
bacteria by means of immunoreactions (11, 12). These are the least common of all biosensors, but different
strategies may be found nonetheless in this category of
2.2.2. Piezoelectric biosensors sensor the calculated guideline is oxidation or reduction
Piezoelectric (PZ) biosensor offers a real-time output, potential of an electrochemical reaction. The working basis
simplicity of use and cost effectiveness. The chief idea is relies on the truth that when a voltage is applied to an
based on coating the surface of the PZ sensor with a electrode in solution, a current flow occurs because of
selectively binding material, for instance, antibodies to electrochemical reactions. The voltage at which these
bacteria, and then locating it in a solution containing reactions occur indicates a particular reaction and
bacteria. The bacteria will bind to the antibodies and the particular species (2, 11).
mass of the crystal will increase while the resonance
frequency of oscillation will decrease proportionally (9, 2.5. Bioluminescence sensors
11). Recent advances in bioanalytical sensors have led to the
utilization of the ability of certain enzymes to emit photons
2.3. Thermal Biosensors as a byproduct of their reactions. This phenomenon is
This type of biosensor is exploiting one of the fundamental known as bioluminescence. The potential applications of
properties of biological reactions, namely absorption or bioluminescence for bacterial detection were begun by the
production of heat, which in turn changes the temperature development of luciferase reporter phages. The bacterial
of the medium in which the reaction takes place. They are luminescence lux gene has been broadly exercised as a
combined by combining immobilized enzyme molecules reporter either in an inducible or constitutive mechanism.
with temperature sensors. When the analyte comes in In the inducible manner, the reporter lux gene is fused to a
contact with the enzyme, the heat reaction of the enzyme is promoter regulated by the concentration of a combine of
measured and is calibrated against the analyte interest. As an effect, the concentration of the compound
concentration. Common applications of this type of can be quantitatively assayed by determining the
biosensor include the detection of pesticides and bioluminescence intensity. Bioluminescence systems have
pathogenic bacteria (11). been used for detection of a wide range of microorganisms
(2, 11).
2.4. Electrochemical Biosensors
Electrochemical biosensors are mainly used for the 2.6. Nucleic Acid-based Biosensors
detection of hybridized DNA, DNA-binding drugs, glucose A nucleic acid biosensor is an analytical instrument that
concentration, etc. Electrochemical biosensors can be integrates an oligonucleotide with a signal transducer. The
classified based on the calculating electrical guidelines as: nucleic acid probe is immobilized on the transducer and
(i) conductimetric, (ii) amperometric and (iii) behaves as the bio-recognition molecule to detect
potentiometric. Contrasted to optical approaches, DNA/RNA fragments (11).
electrochemistry gives the analyst to act with turbid
samples, and the capital cost of equipment is much lower. 2.7. Nanobiosensors
On the other hand, electrochemical methods present Nanosensors can be described as sensors based on
slightly more limited selectivity and sensitivity than their nanotechnology. Development of nanobiosensor is one of
optical counterparts (9, 13). the most current advancement in the area of
Nanotechnology. The silver and certain other noble metal
2.4.1. Conductimetric Biosensors nanoparticles have many important applications in the field
The measured parameter is the electrical of biolabeling, drug delivery system, filters and also

21
 J. Biol. Today's World. 2013 Jan; 2 (1): 20-23
∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

antimicrobial drugs, sensors (14). indicating that cancer is wide- spread among all races.
Cancer can take over 200 distinct forms, including lung,
prostate, breast, ovarian, hematologic, skin, and colon
3. Microbial Biosensors cancer, and leukemia, and both environmental agents, and
Microbes have a number of advantages as biological genetic agents are related with an additional risk of
sensing materials in the fabrication of biosensors. They are developing cancer. Bacterial as well as viral infections are
present ubiquitously and are able to metabolize a wide also firmly related with some categories of cancer (18, 19).
range of chemical compounds. Microorganisms have a In medicine, biosensors can be used to monitor blood
great capacity to adapt to adverse conditions and to glucose levels in diabetics, detect pathogens, and diagnose
develop the capability to degrade new molecules with time. and monitor cancer (20). The use of emerging biosensor
Microbes are also amenable for genetic changes through technology could be instrumental in early cancer detection
mutation or through recombinant DNA technology and and more effective treatments, especially for those cancers
serve as an economical source of intracellular enzymes. that are certainly diagnosed at late grades and answer
Purified enzymes have been most commonly used in the poorly to treatment, developing in enhancements in patient
construction of biosensors due to their high specific quality of life and overall chance of survival (19). By
activities as well as high analytical specificity. Over 90% measuring levels of certain proteins expressed and/or
of the enzymes known to date are intracellular. In this secreted by tumor cells, biosensors can detect whether a
respect, the utilization of whole cells as a source of tumor is present, whether it is benign or cancerous, and
intracellular enzymes has been shown to be a better whether treatment has been effective in reducing or
alternative to purified enzymes in various industrial eliminating cancerous cells (19, 20).
processes. Whole cells have been used either in a viable or
non-viable class. Viable cells are advancing considerable 5. Biosensors and Pathogen detection
import in the fabrication of biosensors. Viable microbes Bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms are found
metabolize different organic compounds either widely in nature and environment. Microbial diseases
anaerobically or aerobically resulting in various end constitute the major cause of deaths in developing
products like ammonia, carbon dioxide, acids etc, which countries (11). Pathogen detection is of the utmost
can be monitored using a variety of transducers. Viable importance primarily for health and safety reasons.
cells are mainly used when the overall substrate Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), culture and colony
assimilation capacity of microorganisms is acquired as an counting methods as well as immunology-based
index of respiratory metabolic action, as for estimation of procedures are the foremost frequent tools applied for
biological oxygen demand (BOD) or application of other pathogen identification. They include DNA analysis,
growth or metabolically related nutrients like vitamins, numbering of bacteria as well as antigen–antibody
sugars, organic acids and nitrogenous compounds. Another interactions, respectively. In spite of disadvantages such as
mechanism used for the viable microbial biosensor the time required for the analysis or the complexity of their
involves the inhibition of microbial respiration by the use, they still represent a field where progress is possible.
analyte of interest, like environmental pollutants. Biosensors have recently been defined as analytical
The major application of microbial biosensors is in the devices incorporating a biological material intimately
environmental field (4, 15). Environmental applications of associated with or integrated within a physicochemical
biosensors involve the detection of damaging bacteria or transducer or transducing microsystem, which may be
pesticides in air, water, or food. A microbial biosensor optical, electrochemical, thermometric, piezoelectric,
consisting of an oxygen microelectrode with microbial magnetic or micromechanical (9, 21). There are three
cells immobilized in polyvinyl alcohol has been fabricated central classes of biological identification elements which
for the measurement of bioavailable organic carbon in are applied in biosensor applications. These are enzymes,
toxic sediments. Microbial biosensors have been developed antibodies besides, nucleic acids. In the discovery of
for assaying BOD, a value related to total content of pathogenic bacteria, however, enzymes tend to function as
organic materials in wastewater. BOD sensors take labels rather than actual bacterial recognition elements.
advantage of the high reaction rates of microorganisms Enzymes can be used to label either antibodies or DNA
interfaced to electrodes to measure the oxygen depletion probes much in the same fashion as in an ELISA assay. In
rates (2, 16, 17). the case of amperometric biosensors enzymatic labels are
critical. More advanced techniques may operate without
4. Biosensors and cancer labeling the recognition element, such as the case of
Cancer diagnosis and treatment are of huge care due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR), piezoelectric or
widespread occurrence of the diseases, high death count, impedimetric biosensors. The application of antibodies in
also recurrence after treatment. According to the National biosensors is immediately more develop than that of DNA
Vital Statistics Reports, from 2002 to 2006 the rate of probes, the following sections deal mainly with antibody-
incidence (per 100,000 persons) of cancer in White people based biosensors. Figure 1 shows the three most frequent
was 470.6, in Black people 493.6, in Asians 311.1, antibody immobilization routes, which are:

22
 J. Biol. Today's World. 2013 Jan; 2 (1): 20-23
∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

authors.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interests with
respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

REFERENCES
1. Malhotra BD, Singhal R, Chaubey A, Sharma SK, Kumar A. Recent trends
in biosensors. Current Applied Physics. 2005;5(2):92-7.
2. D'souza S. Microbial biosensors. Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
2001;16(6):337-53.
3. Turner A, Karube I, Wilson G. Biosensors: fundamentals and applications,
1987. Applied Biosensors. 1989.
4. D'souza S. Immobilized enzymes in bioprocess. Current Science.
1999;77(1):69-79.
5. Bilitewski U, Turner A. Biosensors for environmental monitoring, 2000.
Taylor &Francis.
6. Mulchandani A, Rogers KR. Enzyme and microbial biosensors: Humana
Figure 1. Main immobilization strategies Press; 1998.
7. Lei Y, Chen W, Mulchandani A. Microbial biosensors. Analytica Chimica
Acta. 2006;568(1):200-10.
Different types of biosensor are being employed for
8. Higson SP, Reddy SM, Vadgama P. Enzyme and other biosensors:
detection of pathogenic microbes. Piezoelectric Evolution of a technology. Engineering Science and Education Journal.
immunosensors were developed for Listeria 1994;3(1):41-8.
9. Lazcka O, Campo F, Munoz FX. Pathogen detection: a perspective of
monocytogenes and members of the Enterobacteriaceae traditional methods and biosensors. Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
family etc (22). In the immunogravimetric microbial assay, 2007;22(7):1205-17.
10. Watts HJ, Lowe CR, Pollard-Knight DV. Optical biosensor for monitoring
a PZ crystal coated with anti-C. albicans antibody was microbial cells. Analytical chemistry. 1994;66(15):2465-70.
used for the detection of C. albicans concentrations in the 11. Syam R, Davis KJ, Pratheesh M, Anoopraj R, Joseph BS. Biosensors: A
Novel Approach for Pathogen Detection. VETSCAN. 2012;7(1):14-8.
range of 106–108 cells/ml (22). In study pyle et al,
12. Homola J, Yee SS, Gauglitz G. Surface plasmon resonance sensors:
indirect detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by review. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. 1999;54(1):3-15.
flourescent labeled antibody method (5). Amperometric 13. Wang J, Rivas G, Cai X, Palecek E, Nielsen P, Shiraishi H, et al. DNA
electrochemical biosensors for environmental monitoring. A review.
biosensors have been created for indirect detection of E. Analytica Chimica Acta. 1997;347(1):1-8.
coli by Nakamura et al. Brooks et al, developed 14. Rai M, Gade A, Gaikwad S, Marcato PD, Durán N. Biomedical
applications of nanobiosensors: the state-of-the-art. Journal of the Brazilian
amperometric biosensor for Salmonella recognition (23, Chemical Society. 2012;23(1):14-24.
24). Light addressable potentiometric sensor array have 15. Riedel K, Mulchandani A, Rogers K. Enzyme and Microbial Biosensors:
Techniques and Protocols. Humana Press, Totowa; 1998.
been developed for Neisseria meningitidis,
16. Rogers KR, Gerlach CL. Peer Reviewed: Update on Environmental
Brucellamelitensis by Lee et al. (25). Nucleic acid Biosensors. Environmental science & technology. 1999;33(23):500A-6A.
hybridization based biosensor schemes are being 17. Marty J, Olive D, Asano Y. Measurement of BOD: correlation between 5-
day BOD and commercial BOD biosensor values. Environmental technology.
developed for pathogens such as E. coli and 1997;18(3):333-7.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Bioluminescence systems 18. Choi Y-E, Kwak J-W, Park JW. Nanotechnology for early cancer
detection. Sensors. 2010;10(1):428-55.
have been used for detection of a wide range of 19. Bohunicky B, Mousa SA. Biosensors: the new wave in cancer diagnosis.
microorganisms (11). Nanotechnology, science and applications. 2011;4:1.
20. Tothill IE, editor. Biosensors for cancer markers diagnosis. Seminars in
cell & developmental biology; 2009: Elsevier.
6. CONCLUSION 21. Ivnitski D, Abdel-Hamid I, Atanasov P, Wilkins E. Biosensors for
detection of pathogenic bacteria. Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
Biosensors have been miniaturised extensively in the 1999;14(7):599-624.
recent years. Keeping in line with such Developments, 22. Plomer M, Guilbault GG, Hock B. Development of a piezoelectric
immunosensor for the detection of enterobacteria. Enzyme and microbial
microbial cells with high enzyme behaviors may be needed. technology. 1992;14(3):230-5.
This is chief definitely when microbial cells are applied as 23. Nakamura N, Shigematsu A, Matsunaga T. Electrochemical detection of
viable bacteria in urine and antibiotic selection. Biosensors and
replacements to enzyme based sensors. Microorganisms,
Bioelectronics. 1991;6(7):575-80.
due to their low cost, long lifetime and wide range of 24. Brooks JL, Mirhabibollahi B, Kroll R. Experimental enzyme‐linked
suitable pH and temperature, have been widely employed amperometric immunosensors for the detection of salmonellas in foods.
Journal of applied bacteriology. 1992;73(3):189-96.
as the biosensing element in the construction of biosensors. 25. Lee WE, Thompson HG, Hall JG, Fulton RE, Wong JP. Rapid
immunofiltration assay of Newcastle disease virus using a silicon sensor.
Journal of immunological methods. 1993;166(1):123-
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
No mentioned any acknowledgment by authors.

AUTHORS CONTRIBUTION
This work was carried out in collaboration between all

23