UNIT IV - SENSORS

Definitions for sensors and biosensors - Technical definitions: calibration, selectivity,

sensitivity, reproducibility, detection limits, response time; Introduction to

Transducers - primary and secondary types, Active and passive, Analog and Digital

transducers.

Sensors based on sensing layer - Chemical sensor - semi-conductor gas sensors, solid

electrolyte gas sensors, ion-selective electrode sensors, humidity sensors and field

effect transistor sensors.

Bio-sensors - Enzymes based, Affinity-based biosensors, Inhibition-based biosensors;

Cell-based biosensors (Membrane receptors and transporters).

Definitions for Sensors

 A device that responds to a physical stimulus (such as heat, light, sound,

pressure, magnetism, or a particular motion), and transmits a resulting

impulse (as for measurement or operating a control).

Definitions for Biosensors

 A biosensor is defined as a device that produces a measurable signal

proportional to the concentration of the target analyte, usually incorporating

a biological sensing element and measuring signals derived from biological

interactions.

Technical Definitions

1. Calibration

 The linear region of a biosensor is obtained from a calibration curve of its

response to different inputs.

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  A good calibration curve is also indicative of stability of the biosensor's

response, which should neither drift nor oscillate with time.

 A biosensor having linear response can be more easily described

mathematically, than one which has a nonlinear response.

2. Selectivity

 Ability to recognize a single event/condition among other events/conditions

in the same sample/signal. The selectivity of the biosensor is determined by

both the sensor and transduction method.

3. Sensitivity

 The sensitivity of a sensor is measured by the change in its response as a

function of the analogous change in the quantity examined.

 The sensitivity s of a biosensor is defined by the ratio.

Δ output
s=
Δinput

Where,

Δ output = change in the amplitude of output

Δ input = change in the amplitude of input

 The sensitivity determines the aptness of the sensor for a particular

application.

4. Reproducibility

 The method is reproducible if similar results are obtained by other scientists

at different laboratories.

5. Detection limits

 Detection limit or lower limit of detection is the lowest quantity of a

substance that can be distinguished by the sensor signal from the absence of

that substance (control).

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6. Response Time

 Response time is defined as the time to reach a steady state output from the

instant of variation in the input value to the sensor.

Transducers

 A transducer is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to

another.

 The process of converting energy from one form to another is known as

transduction.

1. Classification

 The transducers may be classified in various ways such as on the basis of

electrical principles involved, methods of application, methods of energy

conversion used, nature of output signal etc

(a) Primary and Secondary Transducers

(b) Active and Passive Transducers

(c) Analog and Digital Transducers

(d) Transducers and Inverse Transducers

(a) Primary and Secondary Transducers

 Some transducers consist of mechanical device along with the electrical

device.

 In such transducer’s mechanical device acts as a primary transducer and

converts physical quantity into mechanical signal.

 The electrical device that converts mechanical signal produced by primary

transducer into an electrical signal acts as a secondary transducer.

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  For example, in case of pressure measurement, bourdon tube is a primary

sensor which converts pressure first into displacement, and then the

displacement is converted into an output voltage by an LVDT (core).

 In this case LVDT is secondary transducer.

(b) Active and Passive Transducers

 Active transducers - These transducers do not require any external source or

power for their operation. So they are called as self-generating type.eg) Piezo

electric crystal.

 Passive transducers - do not generate electrical signals by themselves. To

obtain an electric signal for such transducers an external power source is

essential. They are also known as externally power-driven transducers. Ex.

POT, LVDT.

(c) Analog and Digital Transducers

 Transducers, on the basis of nature of output signal, may be classified into

analog and digital transducers.

 Analog transducer converts input signal into output signal, which is a

continuous function of time such as thermostat, strain gauge, LVDT, thermo-

couple etc.

 Digital transducer converts input signal into the output signal of the form of

pulse e.g. it gives discrete output.

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Sensors Based on Sensing Layer

Chemical Sensor

 A chemical sensor is a device that converts a property (physical or chemical)

of a particular analyte into a measurable signal that is proportional to the

analyte concentration.

 It recognizes the analyte molecule in a selective way by transforming the

response into an analytical electrical signal.

 Chemical sensors are classified into ion sensors, gas sensors and humidity

sensors according to the property of analytes.

 The general characteristics of chemical sensors are,

 Transform chemical quantities into electrical signals

 Respond rapidly

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  Maintain their activity over a long time period

 Small

 Cheap

 Specific, i.e., they should respond exclusively to one analyte, or at least be

selective to a group of analytes.

Semi-conductor Gas Sensors

 Semiconductor gas sensors are (also: metal oxide sensors, MOX) electrical

conductivity sensors.

 The resistance of its active sensor layer changes upon contact with the gas to

be detected.

 MOX gas sensors react all reducing and oxidizing gases and therefore not

only enable the detection of trace gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitric

oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), sulfurous gases (H2S, SO2), hydrocarbons

(CxHy), but also the analysis of complex aromas such as volatile organic

compounds (VOCs).

 A high level of selectivity is achieved through a suitable chemical coating.

 Depending on the material and target gas, operating temperatures between

300ºC and 900ºC are necessary to ensure the intrinsic conductivity of the

sensor.

 The sensitivity level depends on the gas and ranges from a few ppb to the

percentage range.

 The detection limit depends on the gas-sensitive material.

Solid Electrolyte Gas Sensors

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Ion-selective Electrode Sensors

Humidity Sensors

Field Effect Transistor Sensors

Bio-sensors

 A biosensor is an analytical device which converts the biological signal into a

measurable electrical signal.

 The basic principle of a biosensor is to detect this molecular recognition and

to transform it into another type of signal using a transducer.

 It detects records and transmits information regarding a physiological change

or process.

 It determines the presence and concentration of a specific substance in any

test solution.

Principle of Biosensor

Basic principle of biosensor involved in three elements,

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  First, biological reorganization element which highly specific towards the

biological material analytes produces.

 Second, transducers detect and transducers signal from biological target -

receptor molecule to electrical signal which is due to reaction occurs.

 Third, after transduction signal from biological to electrical signal where its

amplification is necessary and takes place and read out in detector after

processing the values are displayed for monitor and controlling the system.

Enzymes based Bio-sensors

 Enzymatic sensors are based on the catalytic chemical reaction of the enzyme

and substrate. The reaction products, the charge exchange, or the heat

generation may be the bases for the indirect transduction.

 The enzyme-based biosensor is a chemical sensor in which the catalytic

property of an enzyme is utilized.

 Enzyme-based biosensors can be formed by different sensing principles, such

as electrochemical, electromagnetic, optical, thermal, and gravimetric ones.

 The amperometric principle has been widely used in enzyme electrodes. For

example, glucose can be measured selectively by detecting the consumption

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 of oxygen or the formation of hydrogen peroxide produced by the enzymatic

reaction of glucose oxidase (GOx).

 Enzyme based biosensors are used in different analyzers for quantification of

glucose (PO2 electrode), urea, creatinine etc., where the enzyme is

immobilized on the sensor.

Affinity-based Biosensor

 In these, the receptor molecule binds the analyte irreversibly and non-

catalytically.

 Receptor molecules are Antibodies, Nucleic acids, Hormone receptors

 Affinity biosensors are based on specific chemical binding.

 In immunosensors, this means the antigen-antibody reaction.

 They employ the phenomenon that the immunosystem of living things

produces specific antigens against foreign objects (bacteria, viruses,

molecules, etc.) that are able to form stable complexes for biological

recognition.

 In DNA sensors (also called DNA chips), the selective chemical binding is the

hybridization of molecule clusters with DNA molecules to form a double

structure.

 The immunosensor is a type of chemical sensor in which the antigen-

antibody reaction is utilized so as to realize highly specific and sensitive

measurements

 The antigen, Ag, and the antibody, Ab, form an antigen-antibody complex,

AgAb.

 When Ag is introduced, but the amount of Ab remains unchanged, the

amount of introduced Ag can be determined by the increment of AgAb.

 If the antibody Ab is immobilized and fixed on the sensor surface, formation

of AgAb will cause some change in the sensing element, which can be

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 measured by many different ways such as electrochemical, acoustic,

gravimetric, and optical techniques.

 The DNA sensor is a device for detecting DNA molecules having specific

base sequence.

 To recognize the specific base sequence among the sample DNA, the

hybridization technique is employed.

 A single strand DNA segment is hybridized to another single strand DNA

segment forming a double strand structure when the base sequence is

matched.

 In order to detect DNA segment having a specific base sequence (target),

another DNA segment having a complementary base sequence (probe) is

used so that the target is hybridized with the probe and forms a hybrid.

 Hybridization is a consequence of a reaction given by Probe + Target →

Hybrid

 The concentration of target can be predicted by measuring the amount of

hybrid.

 To detect the result of hybridization, different sensing principles have been

used such as amperometric, potentiometric, electrochemical, acoustic, and

gravimetric.

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