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A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensors and Healthcare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 8714

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Prof. Dr. Gaia Rocchitta

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Medical School, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: biosensor; biomedical applications; amperometry; biological fluids; interferents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In 1962, the first enzyme-based biosensor was introduced. Since then, the development of biosensors has been remarkable. This diffusion is associated with a high sensitivity in monitoring, possibly in real time, as well as the possibility of miniaturization, which makes the biosensors applicable in different matrices, but above all the low production costs. The continuous development of biosensors concerns all aspects of their technology: the search for newer and more effect signal transduction methods; the use of more selective bio-elements towards the monitored analytes; and the use of polymers and containment networks in order to obtain ever greater selectivity and sensitivity, particularly in complex matrices such as biological samples. Biosensors have become a very important tool in diagnostics, drug discovery, and biomedicine as well.

Thus, the present Special Issue will mainly focus on possible new biosensor configurations, concentrating on biorecognition layers, transduction principles, and the use of new containment networks for the biosensor components, in relation to diagnostic applications for the recognition of important biomarkers in real samples.

Prof. Dr. Gaia Rocchitta
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.

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Keywords

enzyme biosensors
neurochemicals
drug discovery
diagnosis markers
biosensor development

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3033 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Surface Functionalization of ITO for Dual-Mode Hypoxia-Associated Cancer Biomarker Detection

by Edmunds Zutis, Gunita Paidere, Rihards Ruska, Toms Freimanis, Janis Cipa, Raivis Zalubovskis, Maira Elksne, Kaspars Tars, Andris Kazaks, Janis Leitans, Anatolijs Sarakovskis and Andris Anspoks

Biosensors 2025, 15(3), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15030186 - 14 Mar 2025

Viewed by 650

Abstract

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a transparent conducting material with exceptional electrical and optical properties, widely used in biosensing and bioelectronics. Functionalization of ITO with linker molecules enables covalent attachment of biomolecules, allowing for dual-mode optical and electrochemical detection. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX), a transmembrane enzyme overexpressed in hypoxic tumors, is a promising biomarker for cancer diagnostics due to its restricted expression in normal tissues. However, conventional detection methods are time-intensive and unsuitable for point-of-care applications. In this study, ITO surfaces were functionalized using silane-based chemistry to immobilize CA IX-specific antibodies, creating a novel biosensing platform. The biosensor utilized a secondary horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated antibody to catalyze the oxidation of luminol in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, producing a chemiluminescent and electrochemical signal. Characterization of the biosensor via a dual-mode optical and electrochemical approach revealed efficient antibody immobilization. Due to the high variation observed in the optical approach, limit of detection (LOD) experiments were conducted exclusively with electrochemistry, yielding an LOD of 266.4 ng/mL. These findings demonstrate the potential of ITO-based electrochemical biosensors for sensitive and selective CA IX detection, highlighting their applicability in cancer diagnostics and other biomedical fields. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Biomedical Diagnostics)

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15 pages, 7264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Frequency 64-Element Ring-Annular Array Transducer: Development and Preclinical Validation for Intravascular Ultrasound Imaging

by Xi Liu, Yuanlong Li, Haiguo Qin and Chang Peng

Biosensors 2025, 15(3), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15030169 - 5 Mar 2025

Viewed by 1000

Abstract

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging has become an essential method for diagnosing coronary artery disease. However, traditional mechanically rotational IVUS catheters encounter issues such as mechanical wear and imaging distortions in curved vessels. The ring-annular IVUS array has gained attention because it offers superior imaging performance without the need for mechanical rotational parts, thereby avoiding rotational imaging distortion. An optimized mechanical micromachining process employing precision dicing technology is proposed in this study, with the objective of achieving higher operating frequencies and minimized outer diameters for a 64-element ring-annular array. This method broadens the range of fabrication options and improves the imaging sensitivity of ring-annular IVUS arrays, as well as eliminating imaging distortion in rotational IVUS catheters, particularly in curved vessels. The probe has a 7.5 Fr (2.5 mm) outer diameter, with key fabrication steps including precision dicing, flexible circuit integration, and Parylene C encapsulation. The ring-annular array has a center frequency of 21.51 MHz with 67.87% bandwidth, with a 56 µm axial resolution and a 276 µm lateral resolution. The imaging performance is further validated by in vitro phantom imaging and ex vivo imaging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Biomedical Diagnostics)

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13 pages, 3805 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Radiomics-Driven CBCT Texture Analysis as a Novel Biosensor for Quantifying Periapical Bone Healing: A Comparative Study of Intracanal Medications

by Diana Lorena Garcia Lopes, Sérgio Lúcio Pereira de Castro Lopes, Daniela Maria de Toledo Ungaro, Ana Paula Martins Gomes, Nicole Berton de Moura, Bianca Costa Gonçalves and Andre Luiz Ferreira Costa

Biosensors 2025, 15(2), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15020098 - 9 Feb 2025

Viewed by 2948

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two intracanal medications in promoting periapical bone healing following endodontic treatment using radiomics-enabled texture analysis of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images as a novel biosensing technique. By quantifying tissue changes through advanced image analysis, this approach seeks to enhance the monitoring and assessment of endodontic treatment outcomes. Thirty-four single-rooted teeth with pulp necrosis and periapical lesions were allocated to two groups (17 each): calcium hydroxide +2% chlorhexidine gel (CHX) and Ultracal XS^®. CBCT scans were obtained immediately after treatment and three months later. Texture analysis performed using MaZda software extracted 11 parameters based on the gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) across two inter-pixel distances and four directions. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between medications for S [0,1] inverse difference moment (p = 0.043), S [0,2] difference of variance (p = 0.014), and S [0,2] difference of entropy (p = 0.004). CHX treatment resulted in a more organized bone tissue structure post-treatment, evidenced by reduced entropy and variance parameters, while Ultracal exhibited less homogeneity, indicative of fibrous or immature tissue formation. These findings demonstrate the superior efficacy of CHX in promoting bone healing and underscore the potential of texture analysis as a powerful tool for assessing CBCT images in endodontic research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Biomedical Diagnostics)

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11 pages, 1851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rapid Detection of microRNA-122 in Serum and Finger Blood Using a Lateral Flow Nucleic Acid Biosensor

by Min Zhang, Meijing Ma, Jiahui Wang, Yurui Zhou, Xueji Zhang and Guodong Liu

Biosensors 2025, 15(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15010058 - 17 Jan 2025

Viewed by 1139

Abstract

MicroRNA122 (miR-122) is a microRNA that is highly expressed in hepatocytes and has been identified as a prospective therapeutic target and biomarker for liver injury. An expanding body of research has demonstrated that miR-122 is a critical regulator in both the initiation and progression of a wide range of liver diseases. Traditional methods for detecting miR-122 mainly include Northern blotting and qRT-PCR, but they are technically complex and cumbersome, requiring expensive instruments and high technical requirements. In this paper, we present a novel rapid testing method utilizing a lateral flow nucleic acid biosensor (LFNAB) for the sensitive and time-efficient detection of miR-122. This approach offers several advantages, including a high specificity for miR-122, the ability to detect low concentrations of the target molecule, and a significantly reduced testing time compared to conventional detection methods. In this study, a thiol-modified single-stranded detection DNA probe (Det-DNA), a biotinylated single-stranded capture DNA probe (Cap-DNA), and a biotinylated single-stranded control DNA probe (Con-DNA) are used to construct the LFNAB. A gold nanoparticle (AuNP) is a colored tag, which is used to label the Det-DNA probe. The principle of detecting miR-122 is based on dual DNA-miRNA hybridization reactions on the LFNAB to form sandwich-type AuNP-Det-DNA-miR-122-Cap-DNA complexes, which are captured on the test area of LFNAB for visualization and quantification. After systematic optimization of conditions of experiment, the response of LFNAB was highly linear within the scope of 0 pM-100 pM miR-122, and the detection limit in 15 min was 3.90 pM. The use of LFNAB to detect miR-122 in serum and fingertip blood has yielded satisfactory results. This successful application indicates the effectiveness of LFNAB in detecting miR-122 in both serum and fingertip blood samples, showcasing its potential utility in clinical and research settings for assessing miR-122 levels in different biological samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Biomedical Diagnostics)

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11 pages, 2604 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rapid Evaluation of Antibacterial Carbohydrates on a Microfluidic Chip Integrated with the Impedimetric Neoglycoprotein Biosensor

by Haijie Ji, Xueqiong Yang, Hang Zhou, Feiyun Cui and Qin Zhou

Biosensors 2023, 13(9), 887; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios13090887 - 18 Sep 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1782

Abstract

The colonization of some bacteria to their host cell is mediated by selective adhesion between adhesin and glycan. The evaluation of antiadhesive carbohydrates in vitro has great significance in discovering new antibacterial drugs. In this paper, a microfluidic chip integrated with impedimetric neoglycoprotein biosensors was developed to evaluate the antibacterial effect of carbohydrates. Mannosylated bovine serum albumin (Man-BSA) was taken as the neoglycoprotein and immobilized on the microelectrode-modified gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) to form a bionic glycoprotein nanosensing surface (Man-BSA/Au NPs). Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) was selected as a bacteria model owing to its selective adhesion to the mannose. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to characterize the adhesion capacity of S. typhimurium to the Man-BSA/Au NPs and evaluate the antiadhesive efficacy of nine different carbohydrates. It was illustrated that the 4-methoxyphenyl-α-D-pyran mannoside (Phenyl-Man) and mannan peptide (Mannatide) showed excellent antiadhesive efficacy, with IC₅₀ values of 0.086 mM and 0.094 mM, respectively. The microfluidic device developed in this study can be tested in multiple channels. Compared with traditional methods for evaluating the antibacterial drug in vitro, it has the advantages of being fast, convenient, and cost-effective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Biomedical Diagnostics)

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