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Biosensors
Special Issues
Optical Biosensors: Advances and New Perspectives
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Optical Biosensors: Advances and New Perspectives

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 8888

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kuangcai Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Imaging Core Facility, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
Interests: light and electron microscopy; single molecule and nanoparticle imaging
Dr. Bin Dong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Interests: single molecule imaging; super-resolution imaging; single particle tracking; advanced optical microscopy; spectroscopy systems development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical biosensors have revolutionized the field of biosensing by enabling non-invasive and real-time monitoring of biomolecules and their interactions through the imaging of both fluorescent and nonfluorescent optical probes. Optical biosensors have numerous applications in the fields of medicine, food safety, environmental monitoring, and drug discovery. However, there is still a significant need to improve the sensitivity, specificity, and stability of these biosensors.

This Special Issue of Biosensors, entitled “Optical Biosensors: Advances and New Perspectives”, aims to present the latest research findings, novel approaches, and future directions in the field of optical biosensors. We welcome contributions from researchers working on the development of novel optical biosensors, including but not limited to plasmonic, fluorescent, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and label-free sensors. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Novel materials and fabrication techniques for optical biosensors;
  • Development of plasmonic and photonic structures for optical biosensors;
  • Signal amplification strategies for enhancing the sensitivity of optical biosensors;
  • Integration of optical biosensors with microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip systems;
  • Advances in optical biosensor instrumentation and data analysis;
  • Applications of optical biosensors in healthcare, environmental monitoring, and food safety;
  • New perspectives on the future of optical biosensors.

We aim to present a comprehensive overview of the recent advances and challenges in the field of optical biosensors. This Special Issue will provide a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, and clinicians interested in developing and applying optical biosensors in various applications. We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Kuangcai Chen
Dr. Bin Dong
Guest Editors

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

  • plasmonic sensors
  • fluorescent sensors
  • surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors
  • label-free sensors
  • microfluidics
  • multi-parametric sensing
  • multi-target sensing
  • instrumentation
  • data analysis
  • materials development

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5697 KiB  
Article
Integration of Fluorescence Spectroscopy into a Photobioreactor for the Monitoring of Cyanobacteria
by Borja García García, María Gabriela Fernández-Manteca, Celia Gómez-Galdós, Susana Deus Álvarez, Agustín P. Monteoliva, José Miguel López-Higuera, José Francisco Algorri, Alain A. Ocampo-Sosa, Luis Rodríguez-Cobo and Adolfo Cobo
Biosensors 2025, 15(3), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15030128 - 20 Feb 2025
Viewed by 828
Abstract
Phytoplankton are essential to aquatic ecosystems but can cause harmful algal blooms (HABs) that threaten water quality, aquatic life, and human health. Developing new devices based on spectroscopic techniques offers a promising alternative for rapid and accurate monitoring of aquatic environments. However, phytoplankton [...] Read more.
Phytoplankton are essential to aquatic ecosystems but can cause harmful algal blooms (HABs) that threaten water quality, aquatic life, and human health. Developing new devices based on spectroscopic techniques offers a promising alternative for rapid and accurate monitoring of aquatic environments. However, phytoplankton undergo various physiological changes throughout their life cycle, leading to alterations in their optical properties, such as autofluorescence. In this study, we present a modification of a low-cost photobioreactor designed to implement fluorescence spectroscopy to analyze the evolution of spectral signals during phytoplankton growth cycles. This device primarily facilitates the characterization of changes in autofluorescence, providing valuable information for the development of future spectroscopic techniques for detecting and monitoring phytoplankton. Additionally, real-time testing was performed on cyanobacterial cultures, where changes in autofluorescence were observed under different conditions. This work demonstrates a cost-effective implementation of spectroscopic techniques within a photobioreactor, offering a preliminary analysis for the future development of functional field devices for monitoring aquatic ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Biosensors: Advances and New Perspectives)
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15 pages, 5019 KiB  
Article
Biomass-Derived Carbon Dots as Fluorescent Probes for Label-Free Sensing of Hemin and as Radical Scavengers
by Neha Sharma and Hae-Jeung Lee
Biosensors 2025, 15(2), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15020105 - 12 Feb 2025
Viewed by 834
Abstract
Carbon dots (CDs) derived from biomass are promising fluorescent probes for specific analyte detection due to their specificity, biocompatibility, selectivity, and sensitivity. In this work, carbon dots were prepared hydrothermally from natural material, Myrica esculenta fruits (hereafter referred to as MPCDs), without adding [...] Read more.
Carbon dots (CDs) derived from biomass are promising fluorescent probes for specific analyte detection due to their specificity, biocompatibility, selectivity, and sensitivity. In this work, carbon dots were prepared hydrothermally from natural material, Myrica esculenta fruits (hereafter referred to as MPCDs), without adding any chemicals. The prepared MPCDs were characterized using optical, microscopic, and spectroscopic methods that revealed the presence of numerous functional groups and fluorescent properties. MPCDs exhibited exceptional characteristics such as water solubility, photostability, excitation-dependent fluorescence emission, and ionic stability. Transmission electron microscopy found that the average size of the MPCDs was 8 nm. MPCDs exhibited remarkable sensing ability for hemin, with a good linearity (R2 = 0.999) and a lower limit of detection of 14.1 nM. MPCDs demonstrated fluorescence quenching-based detection of hemin, primarily owing to ground state complex formation and the inner filter effect. Furthermore, the prepared material exhibited excellent antioxidant potential against 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals with EC50 values of 25.4 and 205.4 µg/mL, respectively. The study suggests that CDs from Myrica esculenta fruits could be used as optical sensors for hemin detection as well as to scavenge selected radicals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Biosensors: Advances and New Perspectives)
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15 pages, 4493 KiB  
Article
Baseline Raman Spectral Fingerprints of Zebrafish Embryos and Larvae
by Isabel Oliveira Abreu, Cláudia Teixeira, Rui Vilarinho, A. Cristina S. Rocha, Joaquim Agostinho Moreira, Luís Oliva-Teles, Laura Guimarães and António Paulo Carvalho
Biosensors 2024, 14(11), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios14110538 - 6 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1318
Abstract
As a highly sensitive vibrational technique, Raman spectroscopy (RS) can provide valuable chemical and molecular data useful to characterise animal cell types, tissues and organs. As a label-free, rapid detection method, RS has been considered a valuable asset in forensics, biology and medicine. [...] Read more.
As a highly sensitive vibrational technique, Raman spectroscopy (RS) can provide valuable chemical and molecular data useful to characterise animal cell types, tissues and organs. As a label-free, rapid detection method, RS has been considered a valuable asset in forensics, biology and medicine. The technique has been applied to zebrafish for various purposes, including physiological, biochemical or bioaccumulation analyses. The available data point out its potential for the early diagnosis of detrimental effects elicited by toxicant exposure. Nevertheless, no baseline spectra are available for zebrafish embryos and larvae that could allow for suitable planning of toxicological assessments, comparison with toxicant-elicited spectra or mechanistic understanding of biochemical and physiological responses to the exposures. With this in mind, this work carried out a baseline characterisation of Raman spectra of zebrafish embryos and larvae throughout early development. Raman spectra were recorded from the iris, forebrain, melanocytes, heart, muscle and swim bladder between 24 and 168 h post-fertilisation. A chemometrics approach, based on partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), was used to obtain a Raman characterisation of each tissue or organ. In total, 117 Raman bands were identified, of which 24 were well represented and, thus, retained in the data analysed. Only three bands were found to be common to all organs and tissues. The PLS-DA provided a tentative Raman spectral fingerprint typical of each tissue or organ, reflecting the ongoing developmental dynamics. The bands showed frequencies previously assigned to collagen, cholesterol, various essential amino acids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Biosensors: Advances and New Perspectives)
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14 pages, 4871 KiB  
Article
Gold Nanorod Density-Dependent Label-Free Bacteria Sensing on a Flake-like 3D Graphene-Based Device by SERS
by Md Imran Hossain, Sitansu Sekhar Nanda, Sooheon Cho, Bom Lee, Bum Jun Kim, Jae-Young Choi and Dong Kee Yi
Biosensors 2023, 13(11), 962; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios13110962 - 30 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4830
Abstract
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an effective technique for biosensing, enabling label-free detection of biomolecules with enhanced sensitivity. There is a tremendous probability of signal failure in Raman frequencies because of the scattering of the Raman radiation in liquids, effective SERS improvement is [...] Read more.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an effective technique for biosensing, enabling label-free detection of biomolecules with enhanced sensitivity. There is a tremendous probability of signal failure in Raman frequencies because of the scattering of the Raman radiation in liquids, effective SERS improvement is required to reduce this issue when considering liquid specimens. We examined a liquid bacterial sample, investigating the electrostatic interactions of the bacterial samples with gold nanorods (AuNRs) and graphene. We established a voltage-gated 3D graphene functionalized with an AuNR-based device on the silicon substrate for SERS measurements when the applied voltage ranges from 0 to 3 V. Moreover, AuNRs density-susceptible bacterial sample analysis with varied concentrations of bacterial samples has also been described. Using bacterial SERS analysis, the bacterial components amide II (1555–1565 cm−1) and amide III (1250–1350 cm−1) have been discovered for both bacteria, Gram-positive, Listeria monocytogenes and Gram-negative, Salmonella typhi. Our fabricated device affords an interesting label-free, rapid, and reproducible bacterial sample analysis based on the density of the AuNRs when functionalizing flake-like 3D graphene, which can help facilitate label-free bacteria sensing platforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Biosensors: Advances and New Perspectives)
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