Novel Designs and Applications for Electrochemical Biosensors

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2025 | Viewed by 1484

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Interests: biosensors; nanotechnology and materials; drug delivery systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electrochemical biosensors have emerged as pivotal tools in the realm of analytical chemistry and biotechnology, converting biochemical interactions into measurable electrical signals, thus enabling the detection of a wide range of biological analytes, including enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids, and small molecules. Recent advancements in materials science and engineering have spurred the development of novel designs for electrochemical biosensors, enhancing their performance and expanding their application scope. Innovations such as nanomaterials, conductive polymers, and biomimetic surfaces have improved the sensitivity and selectivity of these sensors, allowing for the detection of analytes at extremely low concentrations.

Consequently, the applications of electrochemical biosensors are both diverse and impactful. Certain nanomaterials (e.g., MOFs, COFs, LDHs, MXenes, graphene, precious metals, etc.) can change the electrochemical signal by changing electron conduction rates, thereby improving sensor sensitivity and reducing the detection limit. Upon binding with the target analyte, the electrical signal is either quenched or amplified, enabling real-time and accurate detection of the target in various environments. In clinical settings, these biosensors facilitate the rapid detection of disease biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring (e.g., chlorpromazine hydrochloride, alkaline phosphatase, microRNA, CA-125, cTnI, etc.). In environmental contexts, they are employed to monitor pollutant levels and assess ecological health (e.g., bisphenol A, Hg²⁺, pyrethroid pesticides, organophosphates, halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, etc.). Furthermore, electrochemical biosensors are being advanced in the field of food safety (e.g., aflatoxins, zearalenone, nitrites, etc.).

In this Special Issue 'Novel Designs and Applications for Electrochemical Biosensors', we anticipate receiving articles or reviews of manuscripts that illuminate the latest technological advancements, the underlying principles guiding their functionality, and the transformative potential that they hold across various sectors.

Dr. Defang Liu
Dr. Kevin C. Honeychurch
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • electrochemical
  • biosensors
  • electrochemical analysis
  • nanomaterial
  • electrochemiluminescence
  • immunosensor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 1471 KiB  
Article
A New Approach for Interferent-Free Amperometric Biosensor Production Based on All-Electrochemically Assisted Procedures
by Rosanna Ciriello, Maria Assunta Acquavia, Giuliana Bianco, Angela Di Capua and Antonio Guerrieri
Biosensors 2025, 15(8), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080470 - 22 Jul 2025
Viewed by 120
Abstract
A new approach in amperometric enzyme electrodes production based on all-electrochemically assisted procedures will be described. Enzyme (glucose oxidase) immobilization was performed by in situ co-crosslinking of enzyme molecules through electrophoretic protein deposition, assuring enzyme immobilization exclusively onto the transducer surface (Pt electrode). [...] Read more.
A new approach in amperometric enzyme electrodes production based on all-electrochemically assisted procedures will be described. Enzyme (glucose oxidase) immobilization was performed by in situ co-crosslinking of enzyme molecules through electrophoretic protein deposition, assuring enzyme immobilization exclusively onto the transducer surface (Pt electrode). Analogously, the poor selectivity of the transducer was dramatically improved by the electrosynthesis of non-conducting polymers with built-in permselectivity, permitting the formation of a thin permselective film onto the transducer surface, able to reject common interferents usually found in real samples. Since both approaches required a proper and distinct electrochemical perturbation (a pulsed current sequence for electrophoretic protein deposition and cyclic voltammetry for the electrosynthesis of non-conducting polymers), an appropriate coupling of the two all-electrochemical approaches was assured by a thorough study of the likely combinations of the electrosynthesis of permselective polymers with enzyme immobilization by electrophoretic protein deposition and by the use of several electrosynthesized polymers. For each investigated combination and for each polymer, the analytical performances and the rejection capabilities of the resulting biosensor were acquired so to gain information about their sensing abilities eventually in real sample analysis. This study shows that the proper coupling of the two all-electrochemical approaches and the appropriate choice of the electrosynthesized, permselective polymer permits the easy fabrication of novel glucose oxidase biosensors with good analytical performance and low bias in glucose measurement from typical interferent in serum. This novel approach, resembling classical electroplating procedures, is expected to allow all the advantages expected from such procedures like an easy preparation biosensor, a bi-dimensional control of enzyme immobilization and thickness, interferent- and fouling-free transduction of the electrodic sensor and, last but not the least, possibility of miniaturization of the biosensing device. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Designs and Applications for Electrochemical Biosensors)
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24 pages, 5097 KiB  
Article
Non-Monotonic Effect of Substrate Inhibition in Conjunction with Diffusion Limitation on the Response of Amperometric Biosensors
by Romas Baronas
Biosensors 2025, 15(7), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15070441 - 9 Jul 2025
Viewed by 199
Abstract
The non-monotonic behavior of amperometric enzyme-based biosensors under uncompetitive and noncompetitive (mixed) substrate inhibition is investigated computationally using a two-compartment model consisting of an enzyme layer and an outer diffusion layer. The model is based on a system of reaction–diffusion equations that includes [...] Read more.
The non-monotonic behavior of amperometric enzyme-based biosensors under uncompetitive and noncompetitive (mixed) substrate inhibition is investigated computationally using a two-compartment model consisting of an enzyme layer and an outer diffusion layer. The model is based on a system of reaction–diffusion equations that includes a nonlinear term associated with non-Michaelis–Menten kinetics of the enzymatic reaction and accounts for the partitioning between layers. In addition to the known effect of substrate inhibition, where the maximum biosensor current differs from the steady-state output, it has been determined that external diffusion limitations can also cause the appearance of a local minimum in the current. At substrate concentrations greater than both the Michaelis–Menten constant and the uncompetitive substrate inhibition constant, and in the presence of external diffusion limitation, the transient response of the biosensor, after immersion in the substrate solution, may follow a five-phase pattern depending on the model parameter values: it starts from zero, reaches a global or local maximum, decreases to a local minimum, increases again, and finally decreases to a steady intermediate value. The biosensor performance is analyzed numerically using the finite difference method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Designs and Applications for Electrochemical Biosensors)
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Review

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30 pages, 5618 KiB  
Review
High-Resolution Tracking of Aging-Related Small Molecules: Bridging Pollutant Exposure, Brain Aging Mechanisms, and Detection Innovations
by Keying Yu, Sirui Yang, Hongxu Song, Zhou Sun, Kaichao Wang, Yuqi Zhu, Chengkai Yang, Rongzhang Hao and Yuanyuan Cao
Biosensors 2025, 15(4), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15040242 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 869
Abstract
Brain aging is a complex process regulated by genetic, environmental, and metabolic factors, and increasing evidence suggests that environmental pollutants can significantly accelerate this process by interfering with oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial function-related signaling pathways. Traditional studies have focused on the direct [...] Read more.
Brain aging is a complex process regulated by genetic, environmental, and metabolic factors, and increasing evidence suggests that environmental pollutants can significantly accelerate this process by interfering with oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial function-related signaling pathways. Traditional studies have focused on the direct damage of pollutants on macromolecules (e.g., proteins, DNA), while the central role of senescence-associated small molecules (e.g., ROS, PGE2, lactate) in early regulatory mechanisms has been long neglected. In this study, we innovatively proposed a cascade framework of “small molecule metabolic imbalance-signaling pathway dysregulation-macromolecule collapse”, which reveals that pollutants exacerbate the dynamics of brain aging through activation of NLRP3 inflammatory vesicles and inhibition of HIF-1α. Meanwhile, to address the technical bottleneck of small molecule spatiotemporal dynamics monitoring, this paper systematically reviews the cutting-edge detection tools such as electrochemical sensors, genetically encoded fluorescent probes and antioxidant quantum dots (AQDs). Among them, AQDs show unique advantages in real-time monitoring of ROS fluctuations and intervention of oxidative damage by virtue of their ultra-high specific surface area, controllable surface modification, and free radical scavenging ability. By integrating multimodal detection techniques and mechanism studies, this work provides a new perspective for analyzing pollutant-induced brain aging and lays a methodological foundation for early intervention strategies based on small molecule metabolic networks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Designs and Applications for Electrochemical Biosensors)
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