UNIT 2

BIOSENSORS
• Tattoo biosensor
• Video 1.1
 BIOSENSORS

• Biosensors have been explored widely because they can be used to convert a
biochemical process into a measurable signal .

• The basic difference between the biosensor and physical/chemical sensor is that
one of its component is biological

• The main difference between these two sensors is that biological sensors require a
reaction between enzymes or acid and a fluid.

• Biosensors can be used in the fields of medicine, agriculture, biotechnology,

 BIOSENSORS
• A biosensor is a device that measures
biological or chemical reactions by generating
signals proportional to the concentration of an
analyte (biomarker) in the reaction.

• It detects changes in Biological processes and

converts them into an electrical signal. The
term Biological process can be any biological
element or material like enzymes, tissues,
microorganisms, cells, acids, etc.

• Biosensors are employed in applications such

as disease monitoring, drug discovery, and
detection of pollutants, disease- causing
micro-organisms and markers that are
indicators of a disease in bodily fluids (blood,
urine, saliva, sweat).
• Sweat sensors
• Video 2
CONSTRUCTION
 COMPONENTS
ANALYTE BIORECEPTORS TRANSDUCERS ELECTRONICS DISPLAY

• Biomarkers • A molecule that • Converts one • Processes the • Consists of a user

form of energy transduced signal interpretation system
• A substance of specifically such as the liquid
into another. and prepares it for
interest that recognizes the display.
crystal display of a
analyte. • Convert the computer or a direct
needs • It consists of printer that generates
bio-recognition
detection. • Should have event into a complex electronic numbers or curves
• For instance, high selectivity circuitry that understandable by the
measurable user.
and specificity performs signal
glucose is an signal.
conditioning such • Consists of a
‘analyte’ in to the target • Process of energy as amplification combination of
glucose analyte conversion is and conversion of hardware and software
known as that generates results
monitor. signals from of the biosensor in a
• For sweat signalization. analogue into the user-friendly manner.
• Produce either digital form. • The output signal on
biosensor,
optical or • The processed the display can be
sweat is the electrical signals signals are then numeric, graphic,
analyte proportional to quantified by the tabular or an image,
display unit of the depending on the
the amount of requirements of the
analyte–biorecept biosensor. end user.
or interactions.
COMPONENTS
COMPONENTS
 WORKING
• Operated based on the principle of signal transduction where
the combination of biological sensitive element ( analyte &
bioreceptors) and a transducer will convert the biological
material into a corresponding electrical or optical signal.

• Depending on the type of analyte , the output of the transducer

will be either current or voltage or any other form of signal.

• The output voltage signal is usually very low in amplitude and

superimposed on a high frequency noise signal.

• The signal are amplified and filtered by a Signal Processing

Unit or a Signal Conditioning Unit which makes the signals
measurable in better way .

• The analog signal can be displayed directly on an LCD display

but usually, this analog signal is passed to a Microcontroller, to
be converted to digital signal, for ease of analysis, and storage.
• Biosensors Summary
• Video 4
 CHARACTERISTICS
SELECTIVITY

•Most important feature of a biosensor.

•Ability of a bioreceptor to detect a specific analyte in a
sample containing other admixtures and contaminants.
•Example, antibodies act as bioreceptors and are
immobilized on the surface of the transducer. A solution
(usually a buffer containing salts) containing the antigen is
then exposed to the transducer where antibodies interact
only with the antigens
•Selectivity is the main consideration when choosing
bioreceptors.
 CHARACTERISTICS
SENSITIVITY

•Minimum amount of analyte that can be detected by a

biosensor defines its limit of detection (LOD) or
sensitivity.
•Required to detect analyte concentration of as low as
ng/ml (1 ppm= 1000 ng/ml or ppb) to confirm the
presence of traces of analytes in a sample.
 CHARACTERISTICS
STABILITY

•Degree of susceptibility to ambient disturbances in

and around the system.
•Disturbances can cause a drift in the output signals
of a biosensor under measurement.
•Cause an error in the measured concentration and
can affect the precision and accuracy of the
biosensor.
•most crucial feature in applications where a
biosensor requires long incubation steps or
continuous monitoring.
•The response of transducers and electronics can be
temperature-sensitive, which may influence the
stability of a biosensor.
CHARACTERISTICS
LINEARITY

•Accuracy of the measured response (for a set of

measurements with different concentrations of
analyte) to a straight line, mathematically
represented as y = mc, where c is the
concentration of the analyte, y is the output
signal, and m is the sensitivity of the biosensor.
•Associated with the resolution of the biosensor
and range of analyte concentrations under test.
•The resolution of the biosensor is defined as the
smallest change in the concentration of an
analyte that is required to bring a change in the
response of the biosensor.
CHARACTERISTICS
REPRODUCIBILITY

• Ability of the biosensor to generate identical

responses for a duplicated experimental
set-up.
• Characterized by the precision and accuracy
of the transducer and electronics in a
biosensor.
• Reproducible signals provide high reliability
and robustness to the inference made on the
response of a biosensor.
CLASSIFICATION
• CGM
• Video 5.1
• ELECTROCHEMICAL BIOSENSOR
3 categories, depending on what is measured as their signals-
potentiometric, amperometric, and conductometric
biosensors, which measure voltage, current, and conductance
(inverse of resistance)
• Follow Ohms Law V = IR
• If voltage is measured – potentiometric biosensor
• If resistance of biosensor is fixed, current flowing through
biosensor is measured, then amperometric.
• Directly measure the change in the resistance, then
conductometric biosensor.

• Types :
• Amperometric Biosensors - the reaction under investigation
would either generate a measurable current
• Potentiometric Biosensors - a measurable potential or charge
accumulation
• Impedimetric/conductimetric Biosensors –impedance of
system
• Voltammetric Biosensors -
 GLUCOSE MONITOR
• Glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), coenzyme nicotinamide
adenine dinucleotide (NAD) – bioreceptor
• Electron mediator (phenanthroline quinone, PQ) are present
on the working electrode of the test strip.
• Glucose in the blood sample is oxidised to gluconolactone
by reaction with NAD, catalysed by GDH.
• PQ reacts with the reduced coenzyme (NADH) reducing
the mediator and returning the coenzyme to its oxidised
state (NAD).
• The reduced mediator is oxidised at the working electrode,
producing a small electric current proportional to the
glucose concentration.
• Another approach - glucose (target substrate), using the
enzyme glucose oxidase(GOx), ferricyanide Fe(CN6)3 as
electronic mediator.
• glucose oxidase catalyzes the oxidation of glucose in the
presence of dissolved oxygen in the solution. Ferricyanide
can convert the reduced GOx back to the oxidized GOx
(active form), while ferricyanide is reduced to ferrocyanide.
• Extra electron from ferrocyanide given back to the
electrode, generating electric current, while ferrocyanide is
oxidized back to ferricyanide
• Glucose strip manufacturing
• Video 5
• CGM
• Video 6
• Electrochemical biosensor
• Video 6.3
 PHYSICAL BIOSENSOR
• Physical biosensors are the most fundamental
as well as broadly used sensors.
• Any detecting device that offers reaction to the
physical possessions of the medium was
named as a physical biosensor.
• Biosensors that can sense a biological event by
following the changes in physical phenomena
like mass, resonance frequency, refractive
index, fluorescence, etc. of the targeted
analyte are classified as physical biosensors.
• Further classified into optical and mechanical
biosensors
• The mechanical biosensors are classified into
two types namely piezoelectric biosensor and
thermometric biosensor.
 MASS BASED/PIEZOELECTRIC
• Piezoelectric biosensors are considered as mass
based biosensors.
• They produce an electrical signal when a mechanical
force is applied.
• Most common is the quartz crystal microbalance
(QCM).
• Specific nucleotides are immobilized on the surface
of the crystal and are inserted into a solution
containing the target nucleic acid.
• Upon interaction between the target nuclei and its
complementary nucleotides, there is an increase in
the mass of the piezoelectric biosensor
• This decreases the resonant frequency of the crystal
• Real time, low cost, fast response
• Lack of sensitivity and resolution.
• QCM working
• Video
• Physical biosensors MEMs cantilever
• Video 7.2
 THERMOMETRIC BIOSENSOR
• There are various types of biological reactions which
are connected with the invention of heat, and this
makes the base of thermometric biosensors. These
sensors are usually named as thermal biosensors.

• Thermometric-biosensor is used to measure or

estimate the serum cholesterol. As cholesterol gets
oxidized through the enzyme cholesterol oxidase, then
the heat will be produced which can be calculated.
Similarly, assessments of glucose, urea, uric acid, and
penicillin G can be done with these biosensors.
• Calorie biosensor
• Video 7.1
• Optical Biosensors Intro
• Video 8.1
 OPTICAL BIOSENSOR
• There are two main areas of development in optical biosensors. These
involve determining changes in light absorption between the reactants and
products of a reaction, or measuring the light output by a luminescent
process.
• Optical biosensors are devices that detect changes in the properties of light,
such as the refraction index, absorption, fluorescence, or light scattering
resulting from the interaction between an analyte and a receptor .
• This produces a signal proportional to a substance’s concentration,
measured using biological materials (including enzymes, Abs, antigens,
receptors, nucleic acids, cells, and complete tissue) as biorecognition
elements .
• Optical biosensors have great advantages as some of the best sensors in
cataloguing affinity or catalytic receptors.
• They have greater sensitivity and versatility, which thus enables faster and
real time measurements, and can be adapted for multichannel and
 PREGNANCY BIOSENSOR

• Optical biosensor/Pregnancy kit

• Video 8
 SURFACE PLASMON RESONANCE
• SPR is based on the phenomena of optical
illumination of metal surface for the detection of
food-borne pathogens.
• To capture the optical illumination, certain
antibodies were immobilized on a thin gold film.
The interaction of light with the electrons present
in the metal leads to the generation of strong
resonance.
• When the pathogen is bound to the metal surface,
there is a shift in the resonance to the higher
wavelength and the concentration of bound
pathogen is directly proportional to the amount of
shift in the resonance.
• With the help of SPR technique, diagnosis of
pathogens such as E. coli & S. aureus using
bacteriophage as bioreceptor has been reported.
• SPR
• Video 9
• IMMUNOSENSOR
Immunosensors act on the principle that the immune response of certain biological species (usually bacteria)
to contaminants will produce antibodies, which in turn can be measured.

• It follows that: An immunosensor is an analytic device that detects changes in the surface properties of the
physical transducer in response to antibody or antigen, immobilized at the surface of the transducer, binding
to an analyte.

• Ideal properties –

• (i) ability to identify target antigens quickly;

• (ii) ability to generate immunocomplexes without the need to add supplementary reagents;

• (iii) ability to give results with high reproducibility; and

• (iv) ability to easily detect the target in real samples.

• Although immunosensor technology remains largely in research and development, immunosensors are
envisioned to take the place of large, clinical immunoassay instrument systems such as those based on
enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and other indirect-detection technologies.

• Human body produces antibodies in response to foreign contaminants (antigens)

• These are classified as IgX (, Ig = immunoglobins, X =M,A,D,E,G)

• IgG is in the form of a Y comprising of two legs

• These contain H-bonds which interacts with the antigens giving high specificity forming a bioconjugate.
• RAT Test
• Video 10
• ELISA/Immunosensor
• Video 11
SEMICONDUCTOR BIOSENSOR
ISFET BIOSENSOR
• ISFET/Semiconductor biosensor
• Video 12