Integrated Optical Biosensors

Dear Colleagues,

Integrated optical biosensors are devices that combine optical sensing technologies with microfabrication techniques to acquire images or signals (of light, sound, pressure, taste, smell, touch, etc.) and detect biological analytes with high sensitivity and specificity. These sensors use the interaction between light and biological molecules to generate signals that can be measured and analyzed. They are widely used in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, robots, food safety, and biotechnology due to their ability to provide rapid, accurate, and real-time analysis. Integrated optical biosensors offer several advantages, including high sensitivity, label-free detection, the potential for multiplexing (detecting multiple analytes simultaneously), and the ability to perform real-time monitoring.

Advances in materials science, nanotechnology, and photonics continue to enhance the performance and capabilities of these sensors. This Special Issue will cover a wide range of advances in this field. Theoretical, numerical, and experimental papers are invited. The scope includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

1. Integrated bionic optical sensors for vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
2. Optical Transducers that convert biological interactions into optical signals:
• Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR): measures changes in the refractive index near the sensor surface.
• Interferometric Sensors: utilize the interference of light waves to detect changes in the optical path length caused by biological interactions.
• Resonant Waveguide Grating: measures shifts in the resonance wavelength due to the binding of biomolecules.
3. Biorecognition elements that specifically bind to the target analyte:
• Antibodies: specific to antigens.
• Aptamers: short DNA or RNA sequences that bind to specific molecules.
• Enzymes: bind to substrates and catalyze reactions.
• Nucleic Acids: complementary DNA or RNA strands.
4. Microfabrication, miniaturization, and mass-production technologies for integrating optical components onto a single chip.
5. Signal processing technologies for converting the raw optical signal into meaningful data, which involves amplification, noise reduction, and data interpretation. Studies on artificial intelligence technologies are encouraged.
6. Various applications:
• Medical Diagnostics: the detection of biomarkers for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and infectious diseases.
• Environmental Monitoring: the detection of pollutants and toxins in water, air, and soil.
• Food Safety: monitoring of pathogens, allergens, and contaminants.
• Biotechnology: research applications in genomics, proteomics, and drug discovery.

Prof. Dr. Guoqiang Li
Prof. Dr. Jijun Feng
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. Photonics 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 2400 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.

• integrated optical sensors
• integrated optical biosensors
• integrated optical imaging devices
• optical transducers for biosensing
• biorecognition elements
• microfabrication and miniaturization
• intelligent signal processing
• optical sensors for medical diagnosis
• optical sensors for environmental monitoring
• optical sensors for food safety
• optical sensors for biotechnology