Biosensors for bioprocesses
The advent of biosensors has been touted as the marriage of the century - a marriage of microelectronics and biotechnology. But exactly what is a biosensor. Actually, the term is used interchangeably for two sometimes very different classes of devices - those that measure biological molecules and particles and those that use biomolecules as part of the sensing mechanism. The basic conceptual design of a biosensor is simple: a biological receptor is coupled to an electronic tranducer in such a way that the transducer converts biochemical activity at one end into electrical activity at the other. The biological component is usually an enzyme (for selective chemical catalysis) or an antibody (for highly selective binding), although cell membrane receptors, tissue slices, and microbial cells are used as well. The electronic component measures voltage (potentiometric), current (amperometric), light, sound, temperaure, or mass (piezoelectric). Biosensors display several unique features that make them especially attractive. They are small. They are simple to use many procedures require one step, no additional reagents, and no radioactivity. They are portable. And they are inexpensive and perfect for data processing.
- OSTI ID:
- 6307053
- Journal Information:
- Bio/Technology; (United States), Journal Name: Bio/Technology; (United States) Vol. 5:5; ISSN BTCHD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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