Membrane Protein Based Biosensors 2016

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to past and future developments in the field of biosensors whose receptive elements comprise either of (modified) membrane-active peptides, or of native or genetically engineered membrane-associated, as well as (trans)membrane proteins. The design of smart lipid membrane platforms is crucial for the functioning of membrane-active peptides and proteins, and can either be implemented by liposomal architectures, free-standing lipid bilayers, or planar lipid membranes attached to porous or solid supports. The single-molecule selectivity and specificity of the binding process, together with the expected intrinsic gain factor obtained when utilizing flow through a channel, pore or receptor have attracted the attention of scientists working in multidisciplinary fields. However, for the development of implementable biosensors, lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic devices challenging technical problems such as the fabrication of stable lipid membranes, the incorporation of a functional enzyme or receptor into these architectures, and the marriage of the modified membrane to a physical transducer need to be solved. Recently critical endeavours and new discoveries in this scientific field have been achieved and thus, highly sensitive membrane protein-based biosensors are having an increasing impact on drug screening, modern medical care and diagnostics, food safety, environmental monitoring, and biowarfare control.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schuster
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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.