Point-of-Care Testing Based on Biosensors and Biomimetic Sensors

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "B4: Point-of-Care Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 439

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Biomedical Engineering Departmet, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Brazil
Interests: immunosensor; nanomaterial; point-of-care test; biosensors; electroanalysis; electrochemical sensors; optical immunosensors
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue summarizes research findings on the application of biosensors and biomimetic platforms in point-of-care (POC) testing and highlights their potential and challenges in clinical diagnostics. Immune and enzyme sensors have highly specific antigen–antibody or enzyme–substrate interactions that are combined with various signal transduction mechanisms—such as optical, electrochemical, and acoustic transducers—to enable rapid and accurate diagnosis. These (bio)sensors have demonstrated exceptional sensitivity and specificity in detecting biomarkers and pathogens as well as performing rapid screening.

The integration of biomimetic technologies further improves the performance of sensors. Techniques such as molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), artificial enzymes (nanoenzymes), and aptamers offer improved stability, selectivity, and cost efficiency. These native and biomimetic recognition elements optimize the molecular recognition capabilities of the sensors and enable high precision even with complex samples.

The Special Issue also explores trends in combining biosensors and biomimetic approaches and shows how multiplexing, portability, and ease of use are driving POC technologies to broader clinical applications. Despite these advances, challenges remain in areas such as standardization, production costs, and long-term stability. Future research will focus on optimizing these technologies to make them more accessible and effective for broad clinical application.

Dr. Rosa Fireman Dutra
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • point-of-care testing
  • immunosensors
  • biomimetic techniques
  • molecularly imprinted polymers
  • artificial enzymes
  • aptamers
  • biosensors
  • diagnostics
  • rapid detection
  • multiplexing
  • electrochemical sensors
  • optical sensors
  • nanomaterials

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 1963 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Non-Faradaic Impedimetric Parameters for IL-8 Detection Using Gold Interdigitated Electrode-Based Biosensors: Towards Early Detection of Newborn Disability
by Abdulelah S. Alrebaish, Layla O. Alnami, Joud M. Alshraim, Razan A. Alnghemshi, Alanoud A. Aljammaz, Amir Altinawi, Kholood K. Alhuthali, Hend Alfadul and Abdulaziz K. Assaifan
Micromachines 2025, 16(4), 395; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16040395 - 28 Mar 2025
Viewed by 284
Abstract
Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a critical biomarker associated with inflammation and disability in both adults and newborns. Conventional detection methods are often labor-intensive, time-consuming, and require highly trained personnel. Non-Faradaic impedimetric biosensors offer a label-free, rapid, and direct approach for IL-8 detection. While previous [...] Read more.
Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a critical biomarker associated with inflammation and disability in both adults and newborns. Conventional detection methods are often labor-intensive, time-consuming, and require highly trained personnel. Non-Faradaic impedimetric biosensors offer a label-free, rapid, and direct approach for IL-8 detection. While previous studies have primarily focused on capacitance and phase changes, the potential of other impedimetric parameters remains underexplored. In this study, a gold interdigitated electrode (Au-IDE)-based non-Faradaic biosensor was developed for IL-8 detection, evaluating multiple impedimetric parameters, including capacitance, impedance magnitude (Zmod), real impedance (Zreal), and imaginary impedance (Zimag). Among these, Zimag exhibited the lowest limit of detection (LoD) at 90 pg/mL, followed by Zmod at 120 pg/mL, and capacitance at 140 pg/mL, all significantly below the clinical threshold of 600 pg/mL. In contrast, Zreal displayed the highest LoD at 1.3 ng/mL. Sensitivity analysis revealed that Zimag provided the highest sensitivity at 13.1 kΩ/log (ng/mL), making it the most effective parameter for detecting IL-8 at low concentrations. The sensitivity of Zmod and Zreal was lower, while capacitance sensitivity was measured at 20 nF/log (ng/mL). These findings highlight the importance of investigating alternative impedimetric parameters beyond capacitance to optimize biosensor performance for biomarker detection. This study demonstrates that non-Faradaic biosensors, despite their capacitive-based nature, can achieve enhanced sensitivity and detection limits by leveraging additional impedimetric parameters, offering a promising approach for rapid and effective IL-8 detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Point-of-Care Testing Based on Biosensors and Biomimetic Sensors)
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