Search Results (334)

Smart healthcare is rapidly emerging as a transformative paradigm, enabling simultaneous health monitoring, therapeutic intervention, and early prediction of disease onset. In this context, electrochemical monitoring systems have attracted growing interest due to their cost-effectiveness, ease of operation, miniaturization and compatibility with wearable platforms. Accordingly, conductive hydrogel-based electrochemical (bio)sensors have gained significant attention for health monitoring owing to their soft mechanical properties, high water content, excellent biocompatibility, and ability to form intimate, conformal interfaces with biological tissues. Their three-dimensional polymeric networks facilitate efficient ion transport and mechanical flexibility, making them particularly suitable for wearable and noninvasive sensing and monitoring applications. However, the intrinsically limited conductivity and catalytic activity of pristine hydrogels often constrain their electrochemical performance. To overcome these limitations, functional nanomaterials such as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and MXene (MX) nanosheets have been increasingly integrated into hydrogel matrices to enhance conductivity and electrochemical activity. This review provides a comprehensive and critical comparison of recent advances in MOF- and MX-integrated conductive hydrogels for electrochemical health monitoring. In addition to material design strategies and sensing performance, emerging trends in data-driven sensing aimed at improving signal interpretation and multi-analyte discrimination are systematically discussed. Key challenges related to long-term stability, biocompatibility, scalability, and intelligent system integration are critically assessed, and the future potential of these platforms within closed-loop architectures is highlighted, paving the way for next-generation conductive hydrogel-based electrochemical sensors in smart healthcare applications. Full article

Microfluidics provides precise control of microscale fluid transport and has become central to biomedical, pharmaceutical, and industrial technologies. However, conventional fabrication methods such as photolithography and soft lithography require cleanroom facilities, use costly materials, and offer limited capability for constructing complex or multi-material architectures. This review highlights emerging manufacturing strategies, focusing on polymer-based micro-milling as an accessible and cost-effective alternative for microfluidic device production. Advances in micro-milling now enable the fabrication of microchannels and functional features with improved dimensional accuracy and surface quality, while additive manufacturing offers complementary rapid prototyping and design flexibility. Micro-milling is particularly promising for rapid prototyping of polymeric biosensor chips designed for point-of-care diagnostics. The technique supports diverse materials and eliminates reliance on cleanroom processing. Critical parameters, including tool geometry, spindle speed, and feeding rate, strongly influence fidelity and surface roughness, which directly affect biosensor sensitivity. Despite its advantages, challenges such as tool wear, burr formation, and limits on minimum feature size continue to hinder reproducibility. Recent progress in toolpath optimization, hybrid additive–subtractive methods, and real-time process monitoring shows the potential to overcome these barriers. Overall, micro-milling offers a scalable and economical route for fabricating accessible microfluidic and biosensing platforms, with future work needed to standardize processes and improve integration with surface functionalization methods. Full article

Electrochemical biosensors have reached a high degree of analytical maturity; however, only a small portion of laboratory demonstrations actually progress to commercial products. In this review, we looked non-analytically at the factors which are in place with respect to this translational gap, specifically looking into supply chain design, scale-up manufacturing strategy, regulatory–quality, and more. Based on a wide range of academic and industrial literature, the paper considers how decisions about what kind of material to use, especially for material that recognizes living things, conductive material made from ink, and the material that is the actual product being made, can make a big difference in whether the product can be reproduced easily, if it will stay stable for a long time, and if it is allowed according to the rules. This review compares the dominant manufacturing paradigms—roll-to-roll printing, and semiconductor-derived microfabrication—and shows how the respective strengths and limitations match the different targets, costs, and risk class. This is more about making manufacturing an upstream optimization problem than treating processes as defects and quality as assurance, rather than making it an upstream optimization problem. And it does this by looking at some other big pathways for regulations in the U.S., EU, and China as well, where we get to see how those differences in classification requirements, what kind of proofs you should have, and different ways about running those quality management systems affect how quickly things can come out after developing them, and what your flexibility with customers is like when those products are already out there in the world. The study looks at some case studies: disposable glucose strips, cartridge-based blood analyzers, and new continuous monitoring systems are used to show how the exact same electrochemical ideas can result in very different commercialization issues based on the clinical context and system integration. Synthesizing those angles creates a review that can give a system level map of matching research design to industrial and regulatory realities, with the goal of making it easier for electrochemical biosensors to go from lab prototypes to ready-for-market diagnostic tools. Full article

This work presents the development of an automated and portable monitoring system for the point-of-need detection of tebuconazole and lambda-cyhalothrin. The system features nanoparticle/aptamer-modified electrochemical sensors that are integrated into a microfluidic chip based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). More specifically, rapid and selective detection of both pesticides is achieved using target-specific aptamers immobilized on two-dimensional platinum nanoparticle films that serve as expanded nano-gapped electrodes to enhance sensor sensitivity. The effect of the device substrate (i.e., silicon versus flexible substrates) and measurement setup on biosensing performance has also been investigated. The final monitoring system is characterized by high sensitivity and selectivity in the cases of both target analytes and substrates. Τhe system features a limit of detection of 9.85 pM for tebuconazole, which is one of the lowest reported values in the literature; for lambda-cyhalothrin, it is worth noting that the results reported herein represent one of the few studies on an electrochemical aptamer-based sensor for this analyte, featuring a limit of detection of 48.5 pM. The system is also capable of selectively detecting both targets for complex cross-reactive sample matrices consisting of commercially available pesticides. Moreover, its use could be expanded to detect additional pollutants by functionalizing the biosensor surface with appropriate aptamers. Full article

Microfluidic chip technologies, also known as lab-on-a-chip systems, have profoundly transformed laboratory medicine by enabling the miniaturization, automation, and rapid processing of complex diagnostic assays using minimal sample volumes. Recent advances in chip design, fabrication methods—including 3D printing, modular and flexible substrates—and biosensor integration have significantly enhanced the performance, sensitivity, and clinical applicability of these devices. Integration of advanced biosensors allows for real-time detection of circulating tumor cells, nucleic acids, and exosomes, supporting innovative applications in cancer diagnostics, infectious disease detection, point-of-care testing (POCT), personalized medicine, and therapeutic monitoring. Notably, the convergence of microfluidics with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning has amplified device automation, reliability, and analytical power, resulting in “smart” diagnostic platforms capable of self-optimization, automated analysis, and clinical decision support. Emerging applications in fields such as neuroscience diagnostics and microbiome profiling further highlight the broad potential of microfluidic technology. Here, we present findings from a comprehensive review of recent innovations in microfluidic chip design and fabrication, advances in biosensor and AI integration, and their clinical applications in laboratory medicine. We also discuss current challenges in manufacturing, clinical validation, and system integration, as well as future directions for translating next-generation microfluidic technologies into routine clinical and public health practice. Full article

Polymers and their composites have introduced significant advancements in engineering and technology. The primary advantages of polymeric materials include their lightweight nature, ease of manufacturing, anti-corrosion properties, reduced power consumption during assembly and integration, as well as enhanced stiffness, durability, and fatigue resistance. Polymer coatings with conductive polymers allow efficient charge transfer and make electrodes more flexible, helping them better match the mechanical properties of soft tissues. In addition, polymer coatings can protect electrodes from corrosion, reduce biofouling, and provide sites for attaching biomolecules, making them essential for reliable and long-term bioelectrode and biosensor performance. Polymer coatings for electrochemical bioelectrodes play a crucial role in enhancing sensor performance and stability in biological environments as they improve the interaction between electronic devices and biological tissues. These coatings enhance biocompatibility by reducing inflammation and tissue damage while also lowering electrode impedance to improve signal quality. The present review focuses on the most recent developments in polymer coatings for electrochemical biosensors and respective applications. The manuscript provides an overview of polymer materials, emerging strategies, coating approaches, and the resulting enhancements in bioelectrochemical applications. Full article

Printed electronics (PE) have emerged as a rapidly growing technology owing to their potential for low-cost fabrication, flexibility, and scalable device manufacturing. The dependence on fossil-based components raises environmental concerns, leading the scientific community toward sustainable solutions, aiming to reduce the accumulation of electronic waste (e-waste) in the environment and the emission of toxic gases, as well as to offer a circular solution in the sector. This review presents an in-depth overview of biobased polymeric materials in printed and organic (bio-)electronics. Firstly, the principal printing techniques are presented in detail. The review proceeds by outlining the various biobased synthetic and natural polymers, along with their blends, that are employed in the fabrication of biobased substrates for printed devices. Finally, the review emphasizes the existing challenges and constraints in the field of PE, along with the promising opportunities for its future advancement. Full article

This review aims to provide a broad, multidisciplinary perspective on how dynamic genomics and systems biology are transforming modern healthcare, with a focus on cancer especially liver cancer (HCC). It explains how integrating multi-omics technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, interactomics, metabolomics, and spatial transcriptomics deepens our understanding of the complex tumor environment. These innovations enable precise patient stratification based on molecular, spatial, and functional tumor characteristics, allowing for personalized treatment plans. Emphasizing the role of regulatory networks and cell-specific pathways, the review shows how mapping these networks using multi-omics data can predict resistance, identify therapeutic targets, and aid in the development of targeted therapies. The approach shifts from standard, uniform treatments to flexible, real-time strategies guided by technologies such as liquid biopsies and wearable biosensors. A case study showcases the benefits of personalized therapy, which integrates epigenetic modifications, checkpoint inhibitors, and ongoing multi-omics monitoring in a patient with HCC. Future innovations, such as cloud-based genomic ecosystems, federated learning for privacy, and AI-driven data analysis, are also discussed to enhance decision-making and outcomes. The review underscores a move toward predictive and preventive healthcare by integrating layered data into clinical workflows. It reviews ongoing clinical trials using advanced molecular and immunological techniques for HCC. Overall, it promotes a systemic, technological, and spatial approach to cancer treatment, emphasizing the importance of experimental, biochemical–functional, and biophysical data-driven insights in personalizing medicine. Full article

Flexible biosensors offer rapid and low-cost diagnostics but are often limited by the mechanical and electrochemical instability of polymer-based designs in biological media. Here, we introduce a metallic flexible microcrack transducer that exploits the intrinsic deformability of superelastic nickel–titanium (NiTi) for label-free impedimetric detection. Mechanical bending of NiTi wires spontaneously generates martensitic-phase microcracks whose metal–gap–metal geometry forms the active transduction sites, where functional interfacial layers and captured analytes modulate the local dielectric environment and govern the impedance response. Our approach imparts a novel dielectric character to the alloy, enabling its unexplored application in the megahertz (MHz) frequency domain (0.01–10 MHz) where native NiTi is merely conductive. Functionalization with Escherichia coli (E. coli)-specific antibodies renders these microdomains biologically active. This effectively transforms the mechanically induced microcracks into tunable impedance elements driven by analyte binding. The γ-bent NiTi sensors achieved stable and quantitative detection of E. coli ATCC 25922 in sterile human urine, with a detection limit of 64 colony forming units (CFU) mL⁻¹ within 45 min, without redox mediators, external labels, or amplification steps. This work pioneers the use of martensitic microcrack networks, mimicking self-healing behavior in a superelastic alloy as functional transduction elements, defining a new class of metallic flexible biosensors that integrate mechanical robustness, analytical reliability, and scalability for point-of-care biosensing. Full article

Optical fibers are gaining increasing attention in biomedical applications due to their unique advantages, including flexibility, biocompatibility, immunity to electromagnetic interference, potential for miniaturization, and the ability to perform remote, real-time, and in situ sensing. Label-free optical fiber biosensors represent a promising alternative to conventional cancer diagnostics, offering comparable sensitivity and specificity while enabling real-time detection at ultra-low concentrations without the need for complex labeling procedures. However, the sensing performance of biosensors is fundamentally governed by surface modification. The choice of optimal functionalization strategy is dictated by the sensor type, target biomarker, and detection environment. This review paper presents a comprehensive and expanded overview of various surface functionalization methods specifically designed for cancer biomarker detection using optical fiber biosensors, including silanization, self-assembled monolayers, polymer-based coatings, and different dimensional nanomaterials (0D, 1D, and 2D). Furthermore, the emerging integration of computational methods and machine learning in optimizing functionalized optical sensing has been discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that consolidates existing surface modification approaches into a single, cohesive resource, providing valuable insights for researchers developing next-generation fiber optic biosensors for cancer diagnostics. Moreover, the paper points out the current technical challenges and outlines the future perspectives of optical fiber-based biosensors. Full article

A scalable and facile fabrication strategy is presented for developing a flexible, nanostructured, non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor for lactate detection based on copper-modified laser-induced graphene (CuNPs/LIG). A one-step electrodeposition process was employed to uniformly decorate the porous LIG framework with copper nanostructures, offering a cost-effective and reproducible approach for constructing enzyme-free sensing platforms. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed dense Cu nanostructure loading and efficient interfacial integration across the conductive LIG surface. The resulting CuNPs/LIG electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic performance, achieving a sensitivity of 8.56 μA µM⁻¹ cm⁻² with a low detection limit of 42.65 μM and a linear response toward lactate concentrations ranging from 100 to 1100 μM in artificial saliva under physiological conditions. The sensor maintained high selectivity in the presence of physiologically relevant interferents. Practical applicability was demonstrated through recovery studies, where recovery rates exceeding 104% showcase the sensor’s analytical reliability in complex biological matrices. Overall, this work establishes a robust, sensitive, and cost-efficient Cu-nanostructured LIG sensing platform, offering strong potential for non-invasive lactate monitoring in real-world biomedical and wearable applications. Full article

DNA nanoparticles have emerged as potent platforms for wearable and implantable biosensors owing to their molecular programmability, biocompatibility, and structural precision. This study delineates two principal categories of DNA-based sensing materials, DNA hydrogels and DNA origami, and encapsulates their fabrication methodologies, sensing mechanisms, and applications at the device level. DNA hydrogels serve as pliable, aqueous signal transduction mediums exhibiting stimulus-responsive characteristics, facilitating applications such as sweat-based cytokine detection with limits of detection as low as pg·mL⁻¹ and microneedle-integrated hydrogels for femtomolar miRNA sensing. DNA origami offers nanometer-scale spatial precision that improves electrochemical, optical, and plasmonic biosensing, as shown by origami-facilitated luminous nucleic acid detection and ultrasensitive circulating tumor DNA assays with fM-level sensitivity. Emerging integration technologies, such as flexible electronics, microfluidics, and wireless readout, are examined, alongside prospective developments in AI-assisted DNA design and materials produced from synthetic biology. This study offers a thorough and practical viewpoint on the progression of DNA nanotechnology for next-generation wearable and implantable biosensing devices. Full article

A piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer has been developed to detect flow rate, occlusion, and bubble formation in a portable peritoneal dialysis system. This transducer works by utilizing the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into ultrasonic waves and detect the reflected waves through the tube wall. In addition, organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) were tested at annealing temperatures of 75 °C, 100 °C, and 125 °C to evaluate the effect of temperature on mobility and on/off ratio. The best results were obtained at 100 °C with a mobility of 0.816 cm²/Vs and an on/off ratio of 1.4 × 10³ correlated with grain size. This study aims to report the fabrication process and initial characterization of the OTFT device as a first step towards the development of a portable biosensor that can be integrated into a point-of-care system. The transducer is designed for use in PeritoCare^® (Bangi, Malaysia), a portable peritoneal dialysis system developed by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The integration of piezoelectric transducers and OTFTs into the PeritoCare^® system enables the development of a more flexible, efficient, and mobile peritoneal dialysis system for young, active end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Full article

In recent years, polymer-mediated signal amplification has drawn wide attention in bioelectronic sensing. With the rapid progress of biosensing and flexible electronics, polymers with excellent electron–ion transport properties, tunable molecular structures, and good biocompatibility have become essential materials for enhancing detection sensitivity and interfacial stability. However, current sensing systems still face challenges such as signal attenuation, surface fouling, and multi-component interference in complex biological environments, limiting their use in medical diagnosis and environmental monitoring. This review summarizes the progress of conductive polymers, molecularly imprinted polymers, hydrogels, and composite polymers in medical diagnosis, food safety, and environmental monitoring, focusing on their signal amplification mechanisms and structural optimization strategies in electronic transport regulation, molecular recognition enhancement, and antifouling interface design. Overall, polymers improve detection performance through interfacial electronic reconstruction and multidimensional synergistic amplification, offering new ideas for developing highly sensitive, stable, and intelligent biosensors. In the future, polymer-based amplification systems are expected to expand in multi-parameter integrated detection, long-term wearable monitoring, and in situ analysis of complex samples, providing new approaches to precision medicine and sustainable environmental health monitoring. Full article

Smart nucleic acid hydrogels (SNAHs), endowed with stimulus responsiveness, function as programmable molecular switches that can perceive diverse external stimuli and undergo rapid, reversible, and highly specific conformational or performance changes. These dynamic properties have enabled the rational design of biosensors with bionic behaviors, facilitating cascaded “recognition–decision–execution” processes that support advanced biological analysis. Consequently, SNAHs are recognized as a core breakthrough for the next generation of intelligent biosensing units. However, a systematic mapping between SNAH design strategies, specific stimuli, and application fields remains lacking. This review mainly analyzes advances in SNAH-based biosensors over the past five years, proposing flexible and feasible design strategies and key trends in customization. Firstly, we systematically summarize molecular recognition modules involved in the construction of SNAHs, including aptamers, DNAzymes, antibodies, and specific binding peptides. Subsequently, we elaborate on the responses of these modules to external stimuli, so as to further facilitate the signal transduction of signals derived from physical, chemical, and biological sources involving temperature, light, magnetic fields, pH, nucleic acids, proteins, other biomolecules, and pathogens. Additionally, the review outlines the research progress of SNAHs in environmental monitoring, food safety, and medical diagnostics. Finally, we provide an integrated perspective on future opportunities and challenges, highlighting the innovative framework for designing SNAH-based biosensors and offering a practical roadmap for next-generation intelligent sensing applications. Full article