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Biosensors
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Label-free Biosensing
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Label-free Biosensing

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2018) | Viewed by 72374

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Stephen Holler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics & Engineering Physics, Fordham University, Freeman Hall B06A, 441 E. Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458, USA
Interests: biological sensor development; environmental sensing; micro-optical sensors; whispering gallery mode biosensors; microcavity photonics; light scattering from bio-aerosols; fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy; cavity ringdown spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Label-free sensing, in particular label-free biosensing, allows one to investigate the underlying physical and chemical characteristics, and interactions, of target species by relying solely on their intrinsic physicochemical properties. This has the benefit of reducing sample complexity, preparation time, and analysis cost due to the elimination of potentially confounding molecular labels. Furthermore, because of the relatively minimal sample preparation, label-free sensing approaches are highly amenable to field applications and remote diagnostics where preparation facilities and trained personnel may be limited or unavailable.

Recent technical innovations have led to label-free detection schemes that are highly sensitive and robust. Consequently, label-free biosensing is finding new applications with novel sensor platform designs. Biological detection and analysis are infusing themselves into high quality research in many areas of science and engineering. In this Special Issue, we seek to bring together diverse research involving label-free biosensing to highlight the recent advances in the field and cross-pollinate ideas that would lead to further scientific and technological advancements. To this end, we are soliciting manuscripts for a special issue focused on label-free biosensing in the myriad of interdisciplinary applications currently being served by the approach. Novel research that incorporate sensing modalities including, but not limited to, electrochemical sensors, spectroscopy (absorption, fluorescence, Raman), photonics (fiber optic, interferometric, DFB, DBR, photonic crystals), microcavities (spheres, toroids, ring resonators), plasmonic nanoparticle enhancement (spheres, shells, nanorods), micromechanical (QCM, cantilever), surface acoustic wave, and surface plasmon resonance are welcome.

Dr. Stephen Holler
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. Biosensors is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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

  • Spectroscopy
  • Photonics
  • Microcavities
  • Plasmonics
  • Surface Acoustic Wave
  • Mechanical Oscillators
  • Biosensors
  • Impedimetric
  • Electrochemical

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1785 KiB  
Article
Lectin- and Saccharide-Functionalized Nano-Chemiresistor Arrays for Detection and Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria Infection
by Nuvia M. Saucedo, Yingning Gao, Tung Pham and Ashok Mulchandani
Biosensors 2018, 8(3), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios8030063 - 29 Jun 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6523
Abstract
Improvement upon, and expansion of, diagnostic tools for clinical infections have been increasing in recent years. The simplicity and rapidity of techniques are imperative for their adoption and widespread usage at point-of-care. The fabrication and evaluation of such a device is reported in [...] Read more.
Improvement upon, and expansion of, diagnostic tools for clinical infections have been increasing in recent years. The simplicity and rapidity of techniques are imperative for their adoption and widespread usage at point-of-care. The fabrication and evaluation of such a device is reported in this work. The use of a small bioreceptor array (based on lectin-carbohydrate binding) resulted in a unique response profile, which has the potential to be used for pathogen identification, as demonstrated by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The performance of the chemiresistive device was tested with Escherichia coli K12, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mutans, and Salmonella typhi. The limits of detection, based on concanavalin A (conA) lectin as the bioreceptor, are 4.7 × 103 cfu/mL, 25 cfu/mL, 7.4 × 104 cfu/mL, and 6.3 × 102 cfu/mL. This shows that the detection of pathogenic bacteria is achieved with clinically relevant concentrations. Importantly, responses measured in spiked artificial saliva showed minimal matrix interference. Furthermore, the exploitation of the distinctive outer composition of the bacteria and selectivity of lectin-carbohydrate interactions allowed for the discrimination of bacterial infections from viral infections, which is a current and urgent need for diagnosing common clinical infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-free Biosensing)
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11 pages, 2872 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of SrTiO3 Layer on Pt Electrode for Label-Free Capacitive Biosensors
by Francesca Malvano, Luigi Maritato, Giovanni Carapella, Pasquale Orgiani, Roberto Pilloton, Marisa Di Matteo and Donatella Albanese
Biosensors 2018, 8(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios8010026 - 16 Mar 2018
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6223
Abstract
Due to their interesting ferroelectric, conductive and dielectric properties, in recent years, perovskite-structured materials have begun to attract increasing interest in the biosensing field. In this study, a strontium titanate perovskite layer (SrTiO3) has been synthesized on a platinum electrode and [...] Read more.
Due to their interesting ferroelectric, conductive and dielectric properties, in recent years, perovskite-structured materials have begun to attract increasing interest in the biosensing field. In this study, a strontium titanate perovskite layer (SrTiO3) has been synthesized on a platinum electrode and exploited for the development of an impedimetric label-free immunosensor for Escherichia coli O157:H7 detection. The electrochemical characterization of the perovskite-modified electrode during the construction of the immunosensor, as well as after the interaction with different E. coli O157:H7 concentrations, showed a reproducible decrease of the total capacitance of the system that was used for the analytical characterization of the immunosensor. Under optimized conditions, the capacitive immunosensor showed a linear relationship from to 1 to 7 log cfu/mL with a low detection limit of 1 log cfu/mL. Moreover, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique underlined the increase in roughness of the SrTiO3-modified electrode surface after antibody immobilization, as well as the effective presence of cells with the typical size of E. coli. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-free Biosensing)
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14 pages, 4606 KiB  
Article
Mining the Potential of Label-Free Biosensors for In Vitro Antipsychotic Drug Screening
by Tugba Kilic, Maria Soler, Nafiseh Fahimi-Kashani, Hatice Altug and Sandro Carrara
Biosensors 2018, 8(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios8010006 - 9 Jan 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 9818
Abstract
The pharmaceutical industry is facing enormous challenges due to high drug attribution rates. For the past decades, novel methods have been developed for safety and efficacy testing, as well as for improving early development stages. In vitro screening methods for drug-receptor binding are [...] Read more.
The pharmaceutical industry is facing enormous challenges due to high drug attribution rates. For the past decades, novel methods have been developed for safety and efficacy testing, as well as for improving early development stages. In vitro screening methods for drug-receptor binding are considered to be good alternatives for decreasing costs in the identification of drug candidates. However, these methods require lengthy and troublesome labeling steps. Biosensors hold great promise due to the fact that label-free detection schemes can be designed in an easy and low-cost manner. In this paper, for the first time in the literature, we aimed to compare the potential of label-free optical and impedimetric electrochemical biosensors for the screening of antipsychotic drugs (APDs) based on their binding properties to dopamine receptors. Particularly, we have chosen a currently-used atypical antipsychotic drug (Buspirone) for investigating its dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) binding properties using an impedimetric biosensor and a nanoplasmonic biosensor. Both biosensors have been specifically functionalized and characterized for achieving a highly-sensitive and reliable analysis of drug-D3R binding. Our biosensor strategies allow for comparing different affinities against the D3R, which facilitates the identification of strong or weak dopamine antagonists via in vitro assays. This work demonstrates the unique potential of label-free biosensors for the implementation of cost-efficient and simpler analytical tools for the screening of antipsychotic drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-free Biosensing)
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1622 KiB  
Article
Label-Free Biosensor Detection of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds Using Engineered Estrogen Receptors
by Rita La Spina, Valentina E. V. Ferrero, Venera Aiello, Mattia Pedotti, Luca Varani, Teresa Lettieri, Luigi Calzolai, Willem Haasnoot and Pascal Colpo
Biosensors 2018, 8(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios8010001 - 22 Dec 2017
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 8790
Abstract
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) are chemical substances shown to interfere with endogenous hormones affecting the endocrine, immune and nervous systems of mammals. EDCs are the causative agents of diseases including reproductive disorders and cancers. This highlights the urgency to develop fast and sensitive [...] Read more.
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) are chemical substances shown to interfere with endogenous hormones affecting the endocrine, immune and nervous systems of mammals. EDCs are the causative agents of diseases including reproductive disorders and cancers. This highlights the urgency to develop fast and sensitive methods to detect EDCs, which are detrimental even at very low concentrations. In this work, we propose a label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor method to detect specific EDCs (17 β-estradiol (E2), ethinyl-estradiol, 4-nonylphenol, tamoxifen) through their binding to estrogen receptor alpha (ERα). We show that the use of rationally designed ERα (as bio-recognition element) in combination with conformation-sensitive peptides (as amplification agent, resulting in increased responses) enables the detection of low parts per billion (ppb) levels of E2. As a proof of concept, this bioassay was used to detect E2 in (spiked) real water samples from fish farms, rivers and the sea at low ppb levels after concentration by solid phase extraction. In addition, the present SPR assay that combines a conformation-sensitive peptide with an array of ERα mutants is very promising for the assessment of the risk of potential estrogenic activity for chemical substances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-free Biosensing)
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Review

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16 pages, 3052 KiB  
Review
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectroscopy and Microfluidics: Towards Ultrasensitive Label-Free Sensing
by Krishna Kant and Sara Abalde-Cela
Biosensors 2018, 8(3), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios8030062 - 29 Jun 2018
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 9458
Abstract
Raman scattering and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy have demonstrated their potential as ultrasensitive detection techniques in the past decades. Specifically, and as a result of the flourishing of nanotechnology, SERS is nowadays one of the most powerful sensing techniques, not only because [...] Read more.
Raman scattering and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy have demonstrated their potential as ultrasensitive detection techniques in the past decades. Specifically, and as a result of the flourishing of nanotechnology, SERS is nowadays one of the most powerful sensing techniques, not only because of the low detection limits that it can achieve, but also for the structural information that it offers and its capability of multiplexing. Similarly, microfluidics technology is having an increased presence not only in fundamental research, but also in the industry. The latter is because of the intrinsic characteristics of microfluidics, being automation, high-throughput, and miniaturization. However, despite miniaturization being an advantage, it comes together with the need to use ultrasensitive techniques for the interrogation of events happening in extremely small volumes. The combination of SERS with microfluidics can overcome bottlenecks present in both technologies. As a consequence, the integration of Raman and SERS in microfluidics is being investigated for the label-free biosensing of relevant research challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-free Biosensing)
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21 pages, 13240 KiB  
Review
Label-Free Bioanalyte Detection from Nanometer to Micrometer Dimensions—Molecular Imprinting and QCMs †
by Adnan Mujahid, Ghulam Mustafa and Franz L. Dickert
Biosensors 2018, 8(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios8020052 - 1 Jun 2018
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 7097
Abstract
Modern diagnostic tools and immunoassay protocols urges direct analyte recognition based on its intrinsic behavior without using any labeling indicator. This not only improves the detection reliability, but also reduces sample preparation time and complexity involved during labeling step. Label-free biosensor devices are [...] Read more.
Modern diagnostic tools and immunoassay protocols urges direct analyte recognition based on its intrinsic behavior without using any labeling indicator. This not only improves the detection reliability, but also reduces sample preparation time and complexity involved during labeling step. Label-free biosensor devices are capable of monitoring analyte physiochemical properties such as binding sensitivity and selectivity, affinity constants and other dynamics of molecular recognition. The interface of a typical biosensor could range from natural antibodies to synthetic receptors for example molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs). The foremost advantages of using MIPs are their high binding selectivity comparable to natural antibodies, straightforward synthesis in short time, high thermal/chemical stability and compatibility with different transducers. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) resonators are leading acoustic devices that are extensively used for mass-sensitive measurements. Highlight features of QCM devices include low cost fabrication, room temperature operation, and most importantly ability to monitor extremely low mass shifts, thus potentially a universal transducer. The combination of MIPs with quartz QCM has turned out as a prominent sensing system for label-free recognition of diverse bioanalytes. In this article, we shall encompass the potential applications of MIP-QCM sensors exclusively label-free recognition of bacteria and virus species as representative micro and nanosized bioanalytes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-free Biosensing)
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3459 KiB  
Review
Strategies Using Bio-Layer Interferometry Biosensor Technology for Vaccine Research and Development
by Rejane L. Petersen
Biosensors 2017, 7(4), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios7040049 - 31 Oct 2017
Cited by 97 | Viewed by 22153
Abstract
Bio-layer interferometry (BLI) real-time, label-free technology has greatly contributed to advances in vaccine research and development. BLI Octet platforms offer high-throughput, ease of use, reliability, and high precision analysis when compared with common labeling techniques. Many different strategies have been used to immobilize [...] Read more.
Bio-layer interferometry (BLI) real-time, label-free technology has greatly contributed to advances in vaccine research and development. BLI Octet platforms offer high-throughput, ease of use, reliability, and high precision analysis when compared with common labeling techniques. Many different strategies have been used to immobilize the pathogen or host molecules on BLI biosensors for real-time kinetics and affinity analysis, quantification, or high-throughput titer. These strategies can be used in multiple applications and shed light onto the structural and functional aspects molecules play during pathogen-host interactions. They also provide crucial information on how to achieve protection. This review summarizes some key BLI strategies used in human vaccine research and development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-free Biosensing)
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