Functional Nucleic Acid-Based Biosensors: From Fundamentals to Applications
A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensor Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 63
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biosensors, which exploit nucleic acids as ligand molecules and are able to detect and measure any biological or biochemical reaction, are termed functional nucleic acid-based sensors (NABs). These biosensors leverage the unique properties of nucleic acids, particularly their ability to hybridize to complementary sequences, making them highly sensitive and selective for identifying genetic material or mutations. The concentrations of various molecules within the human body (such as metabolites, hormones, and proteins) provide insights into a person's health, while environmental chemicals (including heavy metals, toxins, and industrial wastes) can impact human well-being. As a result, there has been significant research focused on developing highly sensitive and selective biosensors for detecting key analytes, which have applications in areas like environmental monitoring, food safety, industrial quality control, agriculture, and medical diagnostics. Based on different modes of signal transduction and modes of detection, NABs come in several types, including electrochemical, fluorescent, colorimetric, SPR biosensors, QCM sensors, and lateral flow nucleic acid sensors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, lateral flow sensors had a significant impact due to their simplicity, speed, and cost-effectiveness.
Recent developments of biosensors include wearable biosensors to continuously monitor health metrics like glucose, heart rate, and sweat biomarkers for real-time health management. Researchers have recently focused on PoC sensors to develop portable, easy-to-use biosensors for rapid, on-site diagnostics, especially for infectious diseases, cancer, and metabolic disorders. Multi-modal sensors encompass multiple sensing techniques (electrochemical, optical, mechanical, etc.) into a single device to improve accuracy and offer comprehensive data in applications like disease diagnostics and environmental monitoring. Recent trends in AI and machine learning can help to integrate biosensors with the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling smart healthcare systems where biosensors communicate with other devices and platforms, offering advanced data processing and decision-making in real-time.
For this Special Issue, I welcome original research manuscripts, reviews, and minireviews on current developments in the field of nucleic acid-based biosensors. Due to the incessant demand for convenient, cost-effective, and efficient sensors, there are rapid and ongoing advancements in the field of functional nucleic acid-based sensors. Reviews/opinions/comments should offer in-depth insights into the recent trends in FNA-based sensors and/or comprehensive analytical evaluations of the existing and future issues related to nucleic acid-based sensors.
Dr. Arghya Sett
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
- functional nucleic acids (FNAs)
- nucleic acid-based sensors
- wearable sensors
- PoC diagnostics
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