CRISPR/Cas-Based Biosensors
A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensor Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 2 October 2026 | Viewed by 2
Special Issue Editor
Interests: aptamer; biosensor; SPR; molecular diagnosis; loop-mediated isothermal amplification; acoustophoresis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
CRISPR/Cas systems, originally part of the bacterial immune defense, use Cas proteins guided by CRISPR RNAs to recognize and cleave specific nucleic acid sequences. Their programmability, high specificity, and collateral cleavage activity have led to the development of sensitive nucleic acid detection platforms such as SHERLOCK and DETECTR.
In these systems, the guide RNA directs Cas12 or Cas13 to a target sequence, and target recognition activates nonspecific cleavage of reporter probes, producing fluorescent or colorimetric signals. This enables rapid and highly specific detection of viral or bacterial genomes.
To expand CRISPR-based biosensing beyond nucleic acids, aptamer-mediated strategies have been introduced. When an aptamer binds its target, it can undergo a structural change that exposes or releases a trigger sequence. This trigger then activates the CRISPR/Cas system, linking non-nucleic-acid recognition to nucleic acid-based signal amplification. Through this modular approach, CRISPR biosensors can detect diverse analytes with high sensitivity and rapid response.
The various CRISPR/Cas biosensors expand diagnostic applications to fields such as infectious disease surveillance, environmental monitoring, and food safety.
In this Special Issue, manuscripts will cover CRISPR/Cas-based detection of nucleic acids as well as other classes of targets.
Dr. Jee-Woong Park
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 2200 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
- CRISPR/Cas
- aptamer
- RPA
- LAMP
- collateral cleavage
- aptasensor
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