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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 17614

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Dr. Soma Dhakal

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Interests: biomarker sensing; protein-DNA interaction; DNA conformational dynamics; single-molecule imaging; aptamers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomolecular sensing has become a powerful tool in clinical diagnosis, assessment of food quality, forensic analysis, and many more. A myraid of techniques have been developed over the last two decades for a sensitive detection of intended targets, such as small molecules and biomarkers in an increasingly complex setting. Nevertheless, the biosensing field is thriving for more sensitive and specific techniques with no false postitives/negatives for a reliable monitoring of biomarkers in physiological conditions. In this Special Issue on “BioMolecular Sensors”, we welcome original research articles pertaining to biomolecular sensing applied to both the in vitro and in vivo settings. Research articles demonstrating a multiplexed, high-throughput, or ultra-sensitive detection of biomolecules such as nucleic acids and protein biomarkers will be given a higher priority. Please refer to the Keywords below for determining the suitability of your manuscript for this issue. Articles with a high level of scientific rigor and demonstrated reproducibility and specificity will be considered for peer review. Please contact our editorial office (information is provided below) for questions.

Dr. Soma Dhakal
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Biomarkers
DNA/RNA/miRNA/peptide/protein/enzyme/metabolite detection
Nanopore/microfluidic/quantum dots/paper-based/nanoparticle-based sensing
Single-molecule/spectroscopic/electrochemical/mechanical sensing
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
Advancing sensitivity/specificity levels
Forensic analysis
Ultra-sensitive detection

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 16797 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sarcopenia Detection System Using RGB-D Camera and Ultrasound Probe: System Development and Preclinical In-Vitro Test

by Yeoun-Jae Kim, Seongjun Kim and Jaesoon Choi

Sensors 2020, 20(16), 4447; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20164447 - 09 Aug 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2929

Abstract

Sarcopenia is defined as muscle mass and strength loss with aging. As places, such as South Korea, Japan, and Europe have entered an aged society, sarcopenia is attracting global attention with elderly health. However, only few developed devices can quantify sarcopenia diagnosis modalities. Thus, the authors developed a sarcopenia detection system with 4 degrees of freedom to scan the human thigh with ultrasound probe and determine whether he/she has sarcopenia by inspecting the length of muscle thickness in the thigh by ultrasound image. To accurately measure the muscle thickness, the ultrasound probe attached to the sarcopenia detection system, must be moved angularly along the convex surface of the thigh with predefined pressure maintained. Therefore, the authors proposed an angular thigh scanning method for the aforementioned reason. The method first curve-fits the angular surface of the subject’s thigh with piecewise arcs using D information from a fixed RGB-D camera. Then, it incorporates a Jacobian-based ultrasound probe moving method to move the ultrasound probe along the curve-fitted arc and maintains radial interface force between the probe and the surface by force feedback control. The proposed method was validated by in-vitro test with a human thigh mimicked ham-gelatin phantom. The result showed the ham tissue thickness was maintained within approximately 26.01 ± 1.0 mm during 82

°

scanning with a 2.5 N radial force setting and the radial force between probe and surface of the phantom was maintained within 2.50 ± 0.1 N. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BioMolecular Sensors)

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8 pages, 1299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Radiation-Activated Pre-Differentiated Retinal Tissue Monitored by Acoustic Wave Biosensor

by Alin Cheran and Michael Thompson

Sensors 2020, 20(9), 2628; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20092628 - 05 May 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1765

Abstract

A thickness-shear mode acoustic wave biosensor operated within a flow-through system was used to examine the response of mouse retinal tissue to radiation. Control experiments conducted with respect to exposure of the bare gold electrodes of the device under various conditions of light intensity and bathing solution yielded reversible changes in resonant frequency (Fs) and motional resistance (Rm). The magnitude of transient changes was proportional to light intensity, but independent of solution type. These alterations in acoustic parameters were ascribed to acoustic coupling phenomena at the electrode-to-liquid interface. Pre-differentiated retina from mouse samples deposited on the thickness shear mode (TSM) electrode exposed to a high light intensity condition also exhibited reversible changes in both Fs and Rm, compared to control experiments involving a coating used to attach the tissue to the electrode. In this case, the radiation-instigated reversible responses for both acoustic parameters exhibited a reduction in magnitude. The changes are ascribed to the alteration in viscoelasticity of the retinal matrix on the TSM electrode surface. The precise biophysical mechanism responsible for the changes in Fs and Rm remains a challenge, given the complex make up of retinal tissue. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BioMolecular Sensors)

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12 pages, 2137 KiB

Open AccessArticle

FRET-Based Aptasensor for the Selective and Sensitive Detection of Lysozyme

by Kumar Sapkota and Soma Dhakal

Sensors 2020, 20(3), 914; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030914 - 09 Feb 2020

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3968

Abstract

Lysozyme is a conserved antimicrobial enzyme and has been cited for its role in immune modulation. Increase in lysozyme concentration in body fluids is also regarded as an early warning of some diseases such as Alzheimer’s, sarcoidosis, Crohn’s disease, and breast cancer. Therefore, a method for a sensitive and selective detection of lysozyme can benefit many different areas of research. In this regard, several aptamers that are specific to lysozyme have been developed, but there is still a lack of a detection method that is sensitive, specific, and quantitative. In this work, we demonstrated a single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET)-based detection of lysozyme using an aptamer sensor (also called aptasensor) in which the binding of lysozyme triggers its conformational switch from a low-FRET to high-FRET state. Using this strategy, we demonstrated that the aptasensor is sensitive down to 2.3 picomoles (30 nM) of lysozyme with a dynamic range extending to ~2 µM and has little to no interference from similar biomolecules. The smFRET approach used here requires a dramatically small amount of aptasensor (~3000-fold less as compared to typical bulk fluorescence methods), and it is cost effective compared to enzymatic and antibody-based approaches. Additionally, the aptasensor can be readily regenerated in situ via a process called toehold mediated strand displacement (TMSD). The FRET-based aptasensing of lysozyme that we developed here could be implemented to detect other protein biomarkers by incorporating protein-specific aptamers without the need for changing fluorophore-labeled DNA strands. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BioMolecular Sensors)

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17 pages, 1878 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Signaling Response to Transient Redox Stress in Human Isolated T Cells: Molecular Sensor Role of Syk Kinase and Functional Involvement of IL2 Receptor and L-Selectine

by Christian Secchi, Marco Orecchioni, Marissa Carta, Francesco Galimi, Francesco Turrini and Antonella Pantaleo

Sensors 2020, 20(2), 466; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20020466 - 14 Jan 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2412

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are central effectors of inflammation and play a key role in cell signaling. Previous reports have described an association between oxidative events and the modulation of innate immunity. However, the role of redox signaling in adaptive immunity is still not well understood. This work is based on a novel investigation of diamide, a specific oxidant of sulfhydryl groups, and it is the first performed in purified T cell tyrosine phosphorylation signaling. Our data show that ex vivo T cells respond to –SH group oxidation with a distinctive tyrosine phosphorylation response and that these events elicit specific cellular responses. The expression of two essential T-cell receptors, CD25 and CD62L, and T-cell cytokine release is also affected in a specific way. Experiments with Syk inhibitors indicate a major contribution of this kinase in these phenomena. This pilot work confirms the presence of crosstalk between oxidation of cysteine residues and tyrosine phosphorylation changes, resulting in a series of functional events in freshly isolated T cells. Our experiments show a novel role of Syk inhibitors in applying their anti-inflammatory action through the inhibition of a ROS-generated reaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BioMolecular Sensors)

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16 pages, 2401 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Real-Time Optical Detection of Isoleucine in Living Cells through a Genetically-Encoded Nanosensor

by Shruti Singh, Maheshwar Prasad Sharma, Abdulaziz A. Alqarawi, Abeer Hashem, Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah and Altaf Ahmad

Sensors 2020, 20(1), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20010146 - 25 Dec 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3427

Abstract

Isoleucine is one of the branched chain amino acids that plays a major role in the energy metabolism of human beings and animals. However, detailed investigation of specific receptors for isoleucine has not been carried out because of the non-availability of a tool that can monitor the metabolic flux of this amino acid in live cells. This study presents a novel genetically-encoded nanosensor for real-time monitoring of isoleucine in living cells. This nanosensor was developed by sandwiching a periplasmic binding protein (LivJ) of E. coli between a fluorescent protein pair, ECFP (Enhanced Cyan Fluorescent Protein), and Venus. The sensor, named GEII (Genetically Encoded Isoleucine Indicator), was pH stable, isoleucine-specific, and had a binding affinity (K_d) of 63 ± 6 μM. The GEII successfully performed real-time monitoring of isoleucine in bacterial and yeast cells, thereby, establishing its bio-compatibility in monitoring isoleucine in living cells. As a further enhancement, in silico random mutagenesis was carried out to identify a set of viable mutations, which were subsequently experimentally verified to create a library of affinity mutants with a significantly expanded operating range (96 nM–1493 μM). In addition to its applicability in understanding the underlying functions of receptors of isoleucine in metabolic regulation, the GEII can also be used for metabolic engineering of bacteria for enhanced production of isoleucine in animal feed industries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BioMolecular Sensors)

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13 pages, 3492 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optical Thickness-Encoded Suspension Array for High-Throughput Multiplexed Gene Detection

by Huiying Ma, Xuejing Chen, Bangrong Lu and Yanhong Ji

Sensors 2019, 19(24), 5425; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19245425 - 09 Dec 2019

Viewed by 2152

Abstract

We proposed a coding and decoding method of suspension array (SA) based on micro-quartz pieces (MQPs) with different optical thicknesses. The capture probes (cDNA) were grafted onto the surfaces of MQPs and specifically recognized and combined with the partial sequence of the target DNA (tDNA) to form a MQP-cDNA-tDNA complex. Quantum dot-labeled signal probes were then used to specifically recognize and bind another portion of the tDNA in the complex to form a double-probe sandwich structure. This optical thickness-encoded SA can be decoded and detected by a dual-wavelength digital holographic phase fluorescence microscope system. We conducted a series of DNA molecule detection experiments by using this encoding method. Control experiments confirmed the specificity of optical thickness-encoded SA in DNA detection. The concentration gradient experiments then demonstrated the response of the MQPs based SA to analyte concentration. Finally, we used the encoding method to detect three types of DNA in a single sample and confirmed the feasibility of the proposed optical thickness-encoded SA in multiplexed DNA detection. The detection results are stable, and the detection exhibits high specificity and good repeatability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BioMolecular Sensors)

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