Colorimetric Sensors and Biosensors for Healthcare, Food Safety, Environmental Monitoring and Biosecurity Applications

A special issue of Chemosensors (ISSN 2227-9040). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Chemical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 23281

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Guest Editor
Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Interests: analytical chemistry; colorimetric biosensors; bioremediation; atomic spectrometry
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Special Issue Information

Over the next few years, with population growth and increased worldwide demand for better healthcare and improved living standards, the measurement capacities of traditional analytical laboratories are going to be stretched to meet the demand for results which will form the basis of evidence-based decision making across all walks of life. There is therefore the need, now more than ever, for the development of miniaturized hand-held devices and tests that can be used with the minimum of training in a variety of settings. Colorimetric sensors and biosensors lend themselves to the fabrication of user-friendly formats and offer almost instant results. Adopting these formats requires in-depth understanding of the fundamental theories underpinning the tests and ingenuity in assembling safe, reliable and cost-effective sensors and biosensors that can be deployed for the determination of analytes in samples with complex matrices.

We invite authors to submit research articles on colorimetric sensors and biosensors that can be used or adapted for use in non-laboratory settings. Descriptions of sensors and biosensors that are not already in usable formats but which authors can speculate on how further developments will make easy to use are also welcome.

Prof. Philip Gardiner
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Colorimetric sensors and biosensors
  • Point-of-use diagnostics
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Nucleic-acid-based and aptamer-based biosensors
  • Antibody-based lateral flow devices
  • Biosecurity

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 1828 KiB  
Article
Bifunctionalized Gold Nanoparticles for the Colorimetric Detection of the Drug γ-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) in Beverages
by Silvia Rodríguez-Nuévalos, Ana M. Costero, Salvador Gil, Margarita Parra and Pablo Gaviña
Chemosensors 2021, 9(7), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors9070160 - 25 Jun 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3228
Abstract
The increase in the number of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases in recent years has become a major concern. Consequently, there is a need to develop methods for the real-time detection of these substances. We report herein a colorimetric chemosensor for the real-time [...] Read more.
The increase in the number of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases in recent years has become a major concern. Consequently, there is a need to develop methods for the real-time detection of these substances. We report herein a colorimetric chemosensor for the real-time in situ detection of the “date rape” drug GHB. The sensor is based on gold nanoparticles functionalized with both a 2-aminonaphthoxazole and phenanthroline derivative. Its ability to act as “naked-eye” colorimetric sensor for the detection of the drug in soft drinks and alcoholic beverages was studied. The detection process is based on the double recognition of both the hydroxyl and the carboxylate groups present in GHB, which triggers the aggregation of the AuNPs, with the resulting change in the color of the solution. Full article
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14 pages, 2293 KiB  
Article
Colorimetric Aptasensor for Detecting Bacillus carboniphilus Using Aptamer Isolated with a Non-SELEX-Based Method
by Ho-Kyeong Kim, Hye-Ri Kim, Su-Jin Yoon, Kang-Bong Lee, Jungbae Kim and Byoung-Chan Kim
Chemosensors 2021, 9(6), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors9060121 - 24 May 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3575
Abstract
B. carboniphilus is a naphtha-degradative strain (NDS) that uses hydrocarbons for its growth and causes microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in naphtha pipelines. To date, there have been no studies on receptors or sensors for the detection of B. carboniphilus. We isolate B. [...] Read more.
B. carboniphilus is a naphtha-degradative strain (NDS) that uses hydrocarbons for its growth and causes microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in naphtha pipelines. To date, there have been no studies on receptors or sensors for the detection of B. carboniphilus. We isolate B. carboniphilus-specific aptamers with a non-SELEX-based method, which employs repetitive cycles of centrifugation-based partitioning. The binding affinities of three aptamers are evaluated by obtaining their dissociation constants (Kd), which range from 13.2 to 26.3 nM. The BCA-05 aptamer with the lowest Kd value is employed for a two-stage label-free aptasensing platform to verify the aptamer selectivity using colorimetric detection of B. carboniphilus. This platform starts with the aptamer-bacteria binding step, and the concentration of residual aptamer after binding depends on the amount of the target bacteria. Then, the amount of separated residual aptamer determines the degree of salt-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which results in a color change from red to blue. The AuNP color change is expressed as the ratio of absorbances at 630 and 520 nm (A630/A520). Under optimized conditions, this aptasensor shows reliable performance with a linear correlation in the range 104–107 CFU mL−1 and a limit of detection of 5 × 103 CFU mL−1. Full article
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15 pages, 2501 KiB  
Article
Electrochemical Approach to Detection of Chlorophene in Water Catalyzed by a Laccase Modified Gold Electrode
by Gabriela Elizabeth Quintanilla-Villanueva, Donato Luna-Moreno, Araceli Sánchez-Álvarez, Juan Francisco Villarreal-Chiu, José Manuel Rodríguez-Delgado and Melissa Marlene Rodríguez-Delgado
Chemosensors 2021, 9(4), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors9040082 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2809
Abstract
Despite the increasing number of reports that relate antimicrobial chlorophene (CP) with health and environmental effects, few studies have addressed biosensing technologies to detect this threat. This work proposed an electrochemical approach for the detection of CP using laccase enzymes as an alternative [...] Read more.
Despite the increasing number of reports that relate antimicrobial chlorophene (CP) with health and environmental effects, few studies have addressed biosensing technologies to detect this threat. This work proposed an electrochemical approach for the detection of CP using laccase enzymes as an alternative recognition element immobilized onto thin-film gold electrodes. The electrochemical parameters of the detection method, under controlled conditions, resulted in a limit of detection (0.14 ± 0.06 mg L−1) and quantification (0.48 ± 0.04 mg L−1) that agreed with concentrations of CP that already had been measured in natural water samples. Nevertheless, during the analysis of natural river water samples, the provided method suffered a drawback due to matrix effects reflected in the obtained recovery percentage, the value of which was 62.0 ± 2.4% compared to the 101.3 ± 3.5% obtained by the HPLC reference method. These detrimental effects were mainly attributed to organic matter, SO4-2, and Cl- present in river samples. Full article
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16 pages, 7988 KiB  
Article
Visible and Near-Infrared Image Acquisition and Fusion for Night Surveillance
by Hyuk-Ju Kwon and Sung-Hak Lee
Chemosensors 2021, 9(4), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors9040075 - 8 Apr 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3783
Abstract
Image fusion combines images with different information to create a single, information-rich image. The process may either involve synthesizing images using multiple exposures of the same scene, such as exposure fusion, or synthesizing images of different wavelength bands, such as visible and near-infrared [...] Read more.
Image fusion combines images with different information to create a single, information-rich image. The process may either involve synthesizing images using multiple exposures of the same scene, such as exposure fusion, or synthesizing images of different wavelength bands, such as visible and near-infrared (NIR) image fusion. NIR images are frequently used in surveillance systems because they are beyond the narrow perceptual range of human vision. In this paper, we propose an infrared image fusion method that combines high and low intensities for use in surveillance systems under low-light conditions. The proposed method utilizes a depth-weighted radiance map based on intensities and details to enhance local contrast and reduce noise and color distortion. The proposed method involves luminance blending, local tone mapping, and color scaling and correction. Each of these stages is processed in the LAB color space to preserve the color attributes of a visible image. The results confirm that the proposed method outperforms conventional methods. Full article
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Review

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26 pages, 1908 KiB  
Review
A Review of Microfluidic Detection Strategies for Heavy Metals in Water
by Annija Lace and John Cleary
Chemosensors 2021, 9(4), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors9040060 - 24 Mar 2021
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 8859
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution of water has become a global issue and is especially problematic in some developing countries. Heavy metals are toxic to living organisms, even at very low concentrations. Therefore, effective and reliable heavy metal detection in environmental water is very important. [...] Read more.
Heavy metal pollution of water has become a global issue and is especially problematic in some developing countries. Heavy metals are toxic to living organisms, even at very low concentrations. Therefore, effective and reliable heavy metal detection in environmental water is very important. Current laboratory-based methods used for analysis of heavy metals in water require sophisticated instrumentation and highly trained technicians, making them unsuitable for routine heavy metal monitoring in the environment. Consequently, there is a growing demand for autonomous detection systems that could perform in situ or point-of-use measurements. Microfluidic detection systems, which are defined by their small size, have many characteristics that make them suitable for environmental analysis. Some of these advantages include portability, high sample throughput, reduced reagent consumption and waste generation, and reduced production cost. This review focusses on developments in the application of microfluidic detection systems to heavy metal detection in water. Microfluidic detection strategies based on optical techniques, electrochemical techniques, and quartz crystal microbalance are discussed. Full article
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