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What Are Sensors?

Sensors detect and transmit information about their environment to the brain. There are three main types of sensors: physical, chemical, and biosensors. Biosensors detect analytes using biological elements coupled to a transducer. They have applications in healthcare, food production, pollution monitoring, and more. Biosensors function by using specific biological reactions like enzymes or antibodies to detect compounds through electrical, thermal, or optical signals.

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Osama Abdulrahman Alnemer
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75 views

What Are Sensors?

Sensors detect and transmit information about their environment to the brain. There are three main types of sensors: physical, chemical, and biosensors. Biosensors detect analytes using biological elements coupled to a transducer. They have applications in healthcare, food production, pollution monitoring, and more. Biosensors function by using specific biological reactions like enzymes or antibodies to detect compounds through electrical, thermal, or optical signals.

Uploaded by

Osama Abdulrahman Alnemer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What are Sensors?

The word “sensor” finds its origin from the Latin word “sentire” which
basically means to identify anything. By hearing this word sensor, the
foremost thing that springs into our minds is the concept of basic five
human senses: ophthalmoscopies, audioception, gustaoception,
olfacception and anticipation. So sensory cells conduction of data towards
the brain for interpretation as neurological impulses.
 Nose! Tongue! Ears! Eyes! Fingers!
 Sensors can give qualitative or
quantitative analysis
 Sensors can be divided into three types:
a) physical sensors – distance, mass,
temperature etc.
b) chemical sensors – measure an analyte
by chemical or physical responss (eg. litmus paper vs pH meter).
c) biosensors – measure an analyte using biological sensing elements /
bioelement.
Biosensors are analytical devices which are capable of providing either
qualitative or quantitative results.
Biosensors function by coupling a biological sensing element with a
detector system using a transducer. It is an interdisciplinary technology and
involves the collaborative efforts of engineering, microbiology, physics,
chemistry, biology, biotechnology.
Biosensors are generally concerned with sensing and measuring particular
chemicals (analyte) which need not always be biological components
themselves.
IUPAC definition:
A device that uses specific biochemical reactions mediated by isolated
enzymes, immunosystems, tissues, organelles or whole cells to detect
chemical compounds usually by electrical, thermal or optical signals’.

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History:
Father of the Biosensor=Professor Leland C Clark Jnr1918–2005

Important cornerstones in the development of biosensors during the period


(1970–1992)
1970 Discovery of ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) by Bergveld
1975 Fibre-optic biosensor for carbon dioxide and oxygen detection by
Lubbers and Opitz
1975 First commercial biosensor for glucose detection by YSI
1975 First microbe-based immunosensor by Suzuki et al
1982 Fibre-optic biosensor for glucose detection by Schultz
1983 Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosensor by Liedberg et al.
1984 First mediated amperometric biosensor: ferrocene used with glucose
oxidase for glucose detection
1990 SPR-based biosensor by Pharmacia Biacore
1992 Handheld blood biosensor by i-STAT

The Biological Component


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• Interaction of biological component with substrate highly specific to that
substrate alone - avoids interferences from other substances include:
1. enzymes (most common)
2. microorganisms (yeast, bacteria, algae)
3. tissue material (liver, banana),
4. antibodies,
5. nucleic acids

Biocomponent Immobilization:
1. Adsorption on to surface, simplest is weak bonding
2. Microencapsulation or trapping between membranes – (glucose, oxygen
electrode, urea, CO2, NH3).
3. Biocomponent trapped in matrix of a gel or paste or polymer (Popular
method).
4. Cross-linking a bifunctional agent (glutaraldehyde) used to chemically
bind biocomponent to transducer. Method helps stabilize adsorbed
enzymes. Also used with method (2).

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Types of Transducers detector and its functions:
i. Electrochemical transducers:
a) Potentiometry: the measurement of a cell potential at zero current.
b) Voltammetry: an increasing (decreasing) potential is applied to cell
electrode until oxidation (reduction) of substance occurs (current vs
potential)
c) Amperometry: If oxidation (reduction) potential known, step
potential directly to that value (constant voltage) and measure
current. (current vs time)
d) Conductimetry: measure of ease of passage of electric current
through a solution.
ii. Optical Transducers
a) absorption, fluorescence, (bio)luminescence
iii. Piezoelectric devices
a) Involve generation of electric currents from a vibrating crystal. (QCM-
quartz crystal microbalance)
b) The frequency of vibration affected by mass of material adsorbed on
its surface, which could be related to an active biochemical rxn.
iv. Thermal methods
a) Devices such as thermistors measure heat produced/adsorbed which
can then be related to the amount of reaction.

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Applications of Biosensors Have Being Used:
1. Healthcare (glucose, artificial pancreas).
2. Process control: fermentation control and analysis.
3. Food and drink production and analysis.
4. Industrial Effluent Control.
5. Pollution control and monitoring.
6. Mining, industrial and toxic gases.
7. Military applications.
8. Pharmaceutical and drug analysis.

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