Biosensors and bioelectronics on smartphone for portable biochemical detection

Flexible plastic, paper and textile lab-on-a chip platforms for electrochemical biosensing

Flexible biosensors represent an increasingly important and rapidly developing field of research. Flexible materials offer several advantages as supports of biosensing platforms in terms of flexibility, weight, conformability, portability, cost, disposability and scope for integration. On the other hand, electrochemical detection is perfectly suited to flexible biosensing devices. The present paper reviews the field of integrated electrochemical bionsensors fabricated on flexible materials (plastic, paper and textiles) which are used as functional base substrates. The vast majority of electrochemical flexible lab-on-a-chip (LOC) biosensing devices are based on plastic supports in a single or layered configuration. Among these, wearable devices are perhaps the ones that most vividly demonstrate the utility of the concept of flexible biosensors while diagnostic cards represent the state-of-the art in terms of integration and functionality. Another important type of flexible biosensors utilize paper as a functional support material enabling the fabrication of low-cost and disposable paper-based devices operating on the lateral flow, drop-casting or folding (origami) principles. Finally, textile-based biosensors are beginning to emerge enabling real-time measurements in the working environment or in wound care applications. This review is timely due to the significant advances that have taken place over the last few years in the area of LOC biosensors and aims to direct the readers to emerging trends in this field.

Colorimetric ionophore-based coextraction titrimetry of potassium ions

Potassium ion concentration can be successfully determined volumetrically by moving the titration from a homogeneous phase to a two phase solvent system. This is because potassium can be readily complexed in a selective and thermodynamically stable manner by ionophores such as valinomycin. Previous work demonstrated the successful titration of potassium by ion-exchange into an organic phase containing valinomycin, but the sample itself served as titrant, which is not sufficiently practical for routine applications. This problem is overcome here by a co-extraction based approach, with the sodium salt of the water soluble lipophilic anion tetraphenylborate as titrant. The extraction of potassium tetraphenylborate must be preferred over that of the hydrogen ion-tetraphenylborate pair, which is used to indicate the endpoint by the presence of a lipophilic indicator in the organic phase. This is controlled by the sample pH, which for the conditions chosen here is around 7 for optimal sharpness and accuracy of the endpoint. The approach is demonstrated in a colorimetric detection approach, by use of a tethered digital camera and subsequent automated analysis of the resulting image files. The potassium analysis in a variety of samples is successfully demonstrated, including blood serum.

Design and fabrication of an electrochemical aptasensor using Au nanoparticles/carbon nanoparticles/cellulose nanofibers nanocomposite for rapid and sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus

Since that pathogenic bacteria are major threats to human health, this paper describes the fabrication of an effective and durable sensing platform based on gold nanoparticles/carbon nanoparticles/cellulose nanofibers nanocomposite (AuNPs/CNPs/CNFs) at the surface of glassy carbon electrode for sensitive and selective detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The AuNPs/CNPs/CNFs nanocomposite with the high surface area, excellent conductivity, and good biocompatibility was used for self-assembled of the thiolated specific S. aureus aptamer as a sensing element. The surface morphology of AuNPs/CNPs/CNFs nanocomposite was characterized with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometric methods. Each aptasensor modification step was monitored with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The fabricated aptasensor exhibited a wide linear dynamic range (1.2 × 10¹ to 1.2 × 10⁸) CFU mL^-1 with a LOD of 1 CFU mL^-1 and was be capable to accurate detection and determination of Staphylococcus aureus in human blood serum as a clinical sample with a complex matrix.

A Review on Bacteriorhodopsin-Based Bioelectronic Devices

Bacteriorhodopsin protein extracted from Halobacterium salinarum is widely used in many biohybrid electronic devices and forms a research subject known as bioelectronics, which merges biology with electronic technique. The specific molecule structure and components of bR lead to its unique photocycle characteristic, which consists of several intermediates (bR, K, L, M, N, and O) and results in proton pump function. In this review, working principles and properties of bacteriorhodopsin are briefly introduced, as well as bR layer preparation method. After that, different bR-based devices divided into photochemical and photoelectric applications are shown. Finally, outlook and conclusions are drawn to inspire new design of high-performance bR-based biohybrid electronic devices.

Evanescent Properties of Optical Diffraction from 2-Dimensional Hexagonal Photonic Crystals and Their Sensor Applications

The sensitivity of traditional diffraction grating sensors is limited by the spatial resolution of the measurement setup. Thus, a large space is required to improve sensor performance. Here, we demonstrate a compact hexagonal photonic crystal (PhC) optical sensor with high sensitivity. PhCs are able to diffract optical beams to various angles in azimuthal space. The critical wavelength that satisfies the phase matching or becomes evanescent was used to benchmark the refractive index of a target analyte applied on a PhC sensor. Using a glucose solution as an example, our sensor demonstrated very high sensitivity and a low limit of detection. This shows that the diffraction mechanism of hexagonal photonic crystals can be used for sensors when compact size is a concern.

Sensors Based on Bio and Biomimetic Receptors in Medical Diagnostic, Environment, and Food Analysis

Analytical chemistry is now developing mainly in two areas: automation and the creation of complexes that allow, on the one hand, for simultaneously analyzing a large number of samples without the participation of an operator, and on the other, the development of portable miniature devices for personalized medicine and the monitoring of a human habitat. The sensor devices, the great majority of which are biosensors and chemical sensors, perform the role of the latter. That last line is considered in the proposed review. Attention is paid to transducers, receptors, techniques of immobilization of the receptor layer on the transducer surface, processes of signal generation and detection, and methods for increasing sensitivity and accuracy. The features of sensors based on synthetic receptors and additional components (aptamers, molecular imprinted polymers, biomimetics) are discussed. Examples of bio- and chemical sensors' application are given. Miniaturization paths, new power supply means, and wearable and printed sensors are described. Progress in this area opens a revolutionary era in the development of methods of on-site and in-situ monitoring, that is, paving the way from the "test-tube to the smartphone".

Real-time biodetection using a smartphone-based dual-color surface plasmon resonance sensor

We proposed a compact and cost-effective red-green dual-color fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on the smartphone. Inherent color selectivity of phone cameras was utilized for real-time monitoring of red and green color channels simultaneously, which can reduce the chance of false detection and improve the sensitivity. Because there are no external prisms, complex optical lenses, or diffraction grating, simple optical configuration is realized. It has a linear response in a refractive index range of 1.326 to 1.351 (R2  =  0.991) with a resolution of 2.3  ×  10  -  4  RIU. We apply it for immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration measurement. Experimental results demonstrate that a linear SPR response was achieved for IgG concentrations varying from 0.02 to 0.30  mg  /  ml with good repeatability. It may find promising applications in the fields of public health and environment monitoring owing to its simple optics design and applicability in real-time, label-free biodetection.

Biosensors for Sustainable Food Engineering: Challenges and Perspectives

Current food production faces tremendous challenges from growing human population, maintaining clean resources and food qualities, and protecting climate and environment. Food sustainability is mostly a cooperative effort resulting in technology development supported by both governments and enterprises. Multiple attempts have been promoted in tackling challenges and enhancing drivers in food production. Biosensors and biosensing technologies with their applications, are being widely applied to tackling top challenges in food production and its sustainability. Consequently, a growing demand in biosensing technologies exists in food sustainability. Microfluidics represents a technological system integrating multiple technologies. Nanomaterials, with its technology in biosensing, is thought to be the most promising tool in dealing with health, energy, and environmental issues closely related to world populations. The demand of point of care (POC) technologies in this area focus on rapid, simple, accurate, portable, and low-cost analytical instruments. This review provides current viewpoints from the literature on biosensing in food production, food processing, safety and security, food packaging and supply chain, food waste processing, food quality assurance, and food engineering. The current understanding of progress, solution, and future challenges, as well as the commercialization of biosensors are summarized.

Culture-free, highly sensitive, quantitative detection of bacteria from minimally processed samples using fluorescence imaging by smartphone

A critical unmet need in the diagnosis of bacterial infections, which remain a major cause of human morbidity and mortality, is the detection of scarce bacterial pathogens in a variety of samples in a rapid and quantitative manner. Herein, we demonstrate smartphone-based detection of Staphylococcus aureus in a culture-free, rapid, quantitative manner from minimally processed liquid samples using aptamer-functionalized fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles. The tagged S. aureus cells were magnetically captured in a detection cassette, and then fluorescence was imaged using a smartphone camera with a light-emitting diode as the excitation source. Our results showed quantitative detection capability with a minimum detectable concentration as low as 10 cfu/ml by counting individual bacteria cells, efficiently capturing S. aureus cells directly from a peanut milk sample within 10 min. When the selectivity of detection was investigated using samples spiked with other pathogenic bacteria, no significant non-specific detection occurred. Furthermore, strains of S. aureus from various origins showed comparable results, ensuring that the approach can be widely adopted. Therefore, the quantitative fluorescence imaging platform on a smartphone could allow on-site detection of bacteria, providing great potential assistance during major infectious disease outbreaks in remote and resource-limited settings.

Microbiological Sensing Technologies: A Review

Microorganisms have a significant influence on human activities and health, and consequently, there is high demand to develop automated, sensitive, and rapid methods for their detection. These methods might be applicable for clinical, industrial, and environmental applications. Although different techniques have been suggested and employed for the detection of microorganisms, and the majority of these methods are not cost effective and suffer from low sensitivity and low specificity, especially in mixed samples. This paper presents a comprehensive review of microbiological techniques and associated challenges for bioengineering researchers with an engineering background. Also, this paper reports on recent technological advances and their future prospects for a variety of microbiological applications.

Cellphone-Enabled Microwell-Based Microbead Aggregation Assay for Portable Biomarker Detection

Quantitative biomarker detection methods featured with rapidity, high accuracy, and label-free are demonstrated for the development of point-of-care (POC) technologies or "beside" diagnostics. Microbead aggregation via protein-specific linkage provides an effective approach for selective capture of biomarkers from the samples, and can directly readout the presence and amount of the targets. However, sensors or microfluidic analyzers that can accurately quantify the microbead aggregation are scared. In this work, we demonstrate a microwell-based microbeads analyzing system, by which online manipulations of microbeads including trapping, arraying, and rotations can be realized, providing a series of microfluidic approaches to layout the aggregated microbeads for further convenient characterizations. Prostate specific antigen is detected using the proposed system, demonstrating the limit of detection as low as 0.125 ng/mL (3.67 pM). A two-step reaction kinetics model is proposed for the first time to explain the dynamic process of microbeads aggregation. The developed microbeads aggregation analysis system has the advantages of label-free detection, high throughput, and low cost, showing great potential for portable biomarker detection.

The Use of a β-lactamase-based Conductimetric Biosensor Assay to Detect Biomolecular Interactions

Biosensors are becoming increasingly important and implemented in various fields such as pathogen detection, molecular diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and food safety control. In this context, we used β-lactamases as efficient reporter enzymes in several protein-protein interaction studies. Furthermore, their ability to accept insertions of peptides or structured proteins/domains strongly encourages the use of these enzymes to generate chimeric proteins. In a recent study, we inserted a single-domain antibody fragment into the Bacillus licheniformis BlaP β-lactamase. These small domains, also called nanobodies, are defined as the antigen-binding domains of single chain antibodies from camelids. Like common double chain antibodies, they show high affinities and specificities for their targets. The resulting chimeric protein exhibited a high affinity against its target while retaining the β-lactamase activity. This suggests that the nanobody and β-lactamase moieties remain functional. In the present work, we report a detailed protocol that combines our hybrid β-lactamase system to the biosensor technology. The specific binding of the nanobody to its target can be detected thanks to a conductimetric measurement of the protons released by the catalytic activity of the enzyme.

Beyond Simple Cartoons: Challenges in Characterizing Electrochemical Biosensor Interfaces

Design and development of surface-based biosensors is challenging given the multidisciplinary nature of this enterprise, which is certainly the case for electrochemical biosensors. Self-assembly approaches are used to modify the surface with capture probes along with electrochemical methods for detection. Complex surface structures are created to improve the probe-target interaction. These multicomponent surface structures are usually idealized in schematic representations. Many rely on the analytical performance of the sensor surface as an indication of the quality of the surface modification strategy. While directly linked to the eventual device, arguments for pursuing a more extensive characterization of the molecular environments at the surface are presented as a path to understanding how to make electrochemical sensors that are more robust, reliable with improved sensitivity. This is a complex task that is most often accomplished using methods that only report the average characteristics of the surface. Less often applied are methods that are sensitive to the probe (or adsorbate) present in nonideal configurations (e.g., aggregates, clusters, nonspecifically adsorbed). Though these structures may compose a small fraction of the overall modified surface, they have an uncertain impact on sensor performance and reliability. Addressing this issue requires application of imaging methods over a variety of length scales (e.g., optical microscopy and/or scanning probe microscopy) that provide valuable insight into the diversity of surface structures and molecular environments present at the sensing interface. Furthermore, using in situ analytical methods, while complex, can be more relevant to the sensing environment. Reliable measurements of the nature and extent of these features are required to assess the impact of these nonideal configurations on the sensing process. The development and use of methods that can characterize complex surface based biosensors is arguably required, highlighting the need for a multidisciplinary approach toward the preparation and analysis of the biosensor surface. In many ways, representing the surface without reliance on overly simplified cartoons will highlight these important considerations for improving sensor characteristics.

Mkit: A cell migration assay based on microfluidic device and smartphone

Mobile sensing based on the integration of microfluidic device and smartphone, so-called MS2 technology, has enabled many applications over recent years, and continues to stimulate growing interest in both research communities and industries. In particular, it has been envisioned that MS2 technology can be developed for various cell functional assays to enable basic research and clinical applications. Toward this direction, in this paper, we describe the development of a MS2-based cell functional assay for testing cell migration (the Mkit). The system is constructed as an integrated test kit, which includes microfluidic chips, a smartphone-based imaging platform, the phone apps for image capturing and data analysis, and a set of reagent and accessories for performing the cell migration assay. We demonstrated that the Mkit can effectively measure purified neutrophil and cancer cell chemotaxis. Furthermore, neutrophil chemotaxis can be tested from a drop of whole blood using the Mkit with red blood cell (RBC) lysis. The effects of chemoattractant dose and gradient profile on neutrophil chemotaxis were also tested using the Mkit. In addition to research applications, we demonstrated the effective use of the Mkit for on-site test at the hospital and for testing clinical samples from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patient. Thus, this developed Mkit provides an easy and integrated experimental platform for cell migration related research and potential medical diagnostic applications.

A smartphone-based double-channel fluorescence setup for immunoassay of a carcinoembryonic antigen using CuS nanoparticles for signal amplification

Sensitive detection of cancer biomarkers is valuable for clinical diagnosis and treatment assessment of cancers.

IoT-based cloud framework to control Ebola virus outbreak

Ebola is a deadly infectious virus that spreads very quickly through human-to-human transmission and sometimes death. The continuous detection and remote monitoring of infected patients are required in order to prevent the spread of Ebola virus disease (EVD). Healthcare services based on Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing technologies are emerging as a more effective and proactive solution which provides remote continuous monitoring of patients. A novel architecture based on Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), wearable sensor technology, and cloud computing infrastructure is proposed for the detection and monitoring of Ebola infected patients. The aim of this work is to prevent the spreading of the infection at the early stage of the outbreak. The J48 decision tree is used to evaluate the level of infection in a user depending on his symptoms. RFID is used to automatically sense the close proximity interactions (CPIs) between users. Temporal Network Analysis (TNA) is applied to describe and monitor the current state of the outbreak using the CPI data. The performance and accuracy of our proposed model are evaluated on Amazon EC2 cloud using synthetic data of two million users. Our proposed model provided 94 % accuracy for the classification and 92 % of the resource utilization.

Smartphone-based analytical biosensors

With the rapid development, mass production, and pervasive distribution of smartphones in recent years, they have provided people with portable, cost-effective, and easy-to-operate platforms to build analytical biosensors for point-of-care (POC) applications and mobile health.

A Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor Using Double-Metal-Complex Nanostructures and a Review of Recent Approaches

From active developments and applications of various devices to acquire outside and inside information and to operate based on feedback from that information, the sensor market is growing rapidly. In accordance to this trend, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, an optical sensor, has been actively developed for high-sensitivity real-time detection. In this study, the fundamentals of SPR sensors and recent approaches for enhancing sensing performance are reported. In the section on the fundamentals of SPR sensors, a brief description of surface plasmon phenomena, SPR, SPR-based sensing applications, and several configuration types of SPR sensors are introduced. In addition, advanced nanotechnology- and nanofabrication-based techniques for improving the sensing performance of SPR sensors are proposed: (1) localized SPR (LSPR) using nanostructures or nanoparticles; (2) long-range SPR (LRSPR); and (3) double-metal-layer SPR sensors for additional performance improvements. Consequently, a high-sensitivity, high-biocompatibility SPR sensor method is suggested. Moreover, we briefly describe issues (miniaturization and communication technology integration) for future SPR sensors.

Electronic Tongue-A Tool for All Tastes?

Electronic tongue systems are traditionally used to analyse: food products, water samples and taste masking technologies for pharmaceuticals. In principle, their applications are almost limitless, as they are able to almost completely reduce the impact of interferents and can be applied to distinguish samples of extreme complexity as for example broths from different stages of fermentation. Nevertheless, their applications outside the three principal sample types are, in comparison, rather scarce. In this review, we would like to take a closer look on what are real capabilities of electronic tongue systems, what can be achieved using mixed sensor arrays and by introduction of biosensors or molecularly imprinted polymers in the matrix. We will discuss future directions both in the sense of applications as well as system development in the ever-growing trend of low cost analysis.

Smartphone-Based Point-of-Care Urinalysis Under Variable Illumination

Urine tests are performed by using an off-the-shelf reference sheet to compare the color of test strips. However, the tabular representation is difficult to use and more prone to visual errors, especially when the reference color-swatches to be compared are spatially apart. Thus, making it is difficult to distinguish between the subtle differences of shades on the reagent pads. This manuscript represents a new arrangement of reference arrays for urine test strips (urinalysis). Reference color swatches are grouped in a doughnut chart, surrounding each reagent pad on the strip. The urine test can be evaluated using naked eye by referring to the strip with no additional sheet necessary. Along with this new strip, an algorithm for smartphone based application is also proposed as an alternative to deliver diagnostic results. The proposed colorimetric detection method evaluates the captured image of the strip, under various color spaces and evaluates ten different tests for urine. Thus, the proposed system can deliver results on the spot using both naked eye and smartphone. The proposed scheme delivered accurate results under various environmental illumination conditions without any calibration requirements, exhibiting performances suitable for real-life applications and an ease for a common user.

Phase-Sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors: Recent Progress and Future Prospects

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is an optical sensing technique that is capable of performing real-time, label-free and high-sensitivity monitoring of molecular interactions. SPR biosensors can be divided according to their operating principles into angle-, wavelength-, intensity- and phase-interrogated devices. With their complex optical configurations, phase-interrogated SPR sensors generally provide higher sensitivity and throughput, and have thus recently emerged as prominent biosensing devices. To date, several methods have been developed for SPR phase interrogation, including heterodyne detection, polarimetry, shear interferometry, spatial phase modulation interferometry and temporal phase modulation interferometry. This paper summarizes the fundamentals of phase-sensitive SPR sensing, reviews the available methods for phase interrogation of these sensors, and discusses the future prospects for and trends in the development of this technology.

The Evaluation of a Low-Cost Colorimeter for Glucose Detection in Salivary Samples

Given the limited access to healthcare resources, low-income settings require the development of affordable technology. Here we present the design and evaluation of a low-cost colorimeter applied to the non-invasive monitoring of Diabetes Mellitus through the detection of glucose in salival fluid. Samples were processed by the glucose oxidase-peroxidase enzymatic system and analyzed with the development equipment. A light emission diode of 532.5 nm was used as an excitation source and a RGB module was used as a receptor. A calibration curve to quantify the concentration of salivary glucose (0 to 18 mg/dL) was carried out by relating the RGB components registered with glucose concentrations, achieving a limit of detection of 0.17 mg/dL with a CV of 5% (n = 3). Salivary samples of diabetic and healthy volunteers were processed with the equipment showing an average concentration of 1.5519 ± 0.4511 mg/dL for the first and 4.0479 ± 1.6103 mg/dL for the last, allowing a discrimination between both groups. Results were validated against a UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer with a correspondence of R² of 0.98194 between both instruments. Results suggest the potential application of the developed device to the sensitive detection of relevant analytes with a low-cost, user-friendly, low-power and portable instrumentation.

Recent Progress in Optical Biosensors Based on Smartphone Platforms

With a rapid improvement of smartphone hardware and software, especially complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) cameras, many optical biosensors based on smartphone platforms have been presented, which have pushed the development of the point-of-care testing (POCT). Imaging-based and spectrometry-based detection techniques have been widely explored via different approaches. Combined with the smartphone, imaging-based and spectrometry-based methods are currently used to investigate a wide range of molecular properties in chemical and biological science for biosensing and diagnostics. Imaging techniques based on smartphone-based microscopes are utilized to capture microscale analysts, while spectrometry-based techniques are used to probe reactions or changes of molecules. Here, we critically review the most recent progress in imaging-based and spectrometry-based smartphone-integrated platforms that have been developed for chemical experiments and biological diagnosis. We focus on the analytical performance and the complexity for implementation of the platforms.

The Use of Electrochemical Biosensors in Food Analysis

Rapid and accurate analysis of food produce is essential to screen for species that may cause significant health risks like bacteria, pesticides and other toxins. Considerable developments in analytical techniques and instrumentation, for example chromatography, have enabled the analyses and quantitation of these contaminants. However, these traditional technologies are constrained by high cost, delayed analysis times, expensive and laborious sample preparation stages and the need for highly-trained personnel. Therefore, emerging, alternative technologies, for example biosensors may provide viable alternatives. Rapid advances in electrochemical biosensors have enabled significant gains in quantitative detection and screening and show incredible potential as a means of countering such limitations. Apart from demonstrating high specificity towards the analyte, these biosensors also address the challenge of the multifactorial food industry of providing high analytical accuracy amidst complex food matrices, while also overcoming differing densities, pH and temperatures. This (public and Industry) demand for faster, reliable and cost-efficient analysis of food samples, has driven investment into biosensor design. Here, we discuss some of the recent work in this area and critique the role and contributions biosensors play in the food industry. We also appraise the challenges we believe biosensors need to overcome to become the industry standard.

Smartphone based non-invasive salivary glucose biosensor

The present work deals with the development of a non-invasive optical glucose biosensor using saliva samples and a smartphone. The sensor was fabricated with a simple methodology by immobilization of Glucose oxidase enzyme along with a pH responsive dye on a filter paper based strip. The strip changes color upon reaction with glucose present in saliva and the color changes were detected using a smartphone camera through RGB profiling. This standalone biosensor showed good sensitivity and low interference while operating within 20 s response time. We used various means for improvements such as the use of slope method instead of differential response; use of a responsive pH indicator and made numerous tweaks in the smartphone app. Calibration with spiked saliva samples with slopes for (R + G + B) pixels revealed an exponentially increasing calibration curve with a linear detection range of 50-540 mg/dL, sensitivity of 0.0012 pixels sec^-1/mg dL^-1 and LOD of 24.6 mg/dL. The biosensor was clinically validated on both healthy and diabetic subjects divided into several categories based on sex, age, diabetic status etc. and correlation between blood and salivary glucose has been established for better standardization of the sensor. Correlation of 0.44 was obtained between blood and salivary glucose in healthy individuals whereas it was 0.64 and 0.94 in case of prediabetic and diabetic patients respectively. The developed biosensor has the potential to be used for mass diagnosis of diabetes especially in such areas where people remain prohibited from routine analysis due to high healthcare cost. Apart from that, a smartphone would be the only device the user needs for this measurement, along with a disposable low cost test strip.

Multimode smartphone biosensing: the transmission, reflection, and intensity spectral (TRI)-analyzer

We demonstrate a smartphone-integrated handheld detection instrument capable of utilizing the internal rear-facing camera as a high-resolution spectrometer for measuring the colorimetric absorption spectrum, fluorescence emission spectrum, and resonant reflection spectrum from a microfluidic cartridge inserted into the measurement light path. Under user selection, the instrument gathers light from either the white "flash" LED of the smartphone or an integrated green laser diode to direct illumination into a liquid test sample or onto a photonic crystal biosensor. Light emerging from each type of assay is gathered via optical fiber and passed through a diffraction grating placed directly over the smartphone camera to generate spectra from the assay when an image is collected. Each sensing modality is associated with a unique configuration of a microfluidic "stick" containing a linear array of liquid chambers that are swiped through the instrument while the smartphone captures video and the software automatically selects spectra representative of each compartment. The system is demonstrated for representative assays in the field of point-of-care (POC) maternal and infant health: an ELISA assay for the fetal fibronectin protein used as an indicator for pre-term birth and a fluorescent assay for phenylalanine as an indicator for phenylketonuria. In each case, the TRI-analyzer is capable of achieving limits of detection that are comparable to those obtained for the same assay measured with a conventional laboratory microplate reader, demonstrating the flexibility of the system to serve as a platform for rapid, simple translation of existing commercially available biosensing assays to a POC setting.

Surface Plasmon Resonance or Biocompatibility-Key Properties for Determining the Applicability of Noble Metal Nanoparticles

Metal and in particular noble metal nanoparticles represent a very special class of materials which can be applied as prepared or as composite materials. In most of the cases, two main properties are exploited in a vast number of publications: biocompatibility and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). For instance, these two important properties are exploitable in plasmonic diagnostics, bioactive glasses/glass ceramics and catalysis. The most frequently applied noble metal nanoparticle that is universally applicable in all the previously mentioned research areas is gold, although in the case of bioactive glasses/glass ceramics, silver and copper nanoparticles are more frequently applied. The composite partners/supports/matrix/scaffolds for these nanoparticles can vary depending on the chosen application (biopolymers, semiconductor-based composites: TiO₂, WO₃, Bi₂WO₆, biomaterials: SiO₂ or P₂O₅-based glasses and glass ceramics, polymers: polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Gelatin, polyethylene glycol (PEG), polylactic acid (PLA), etc.). The scientific works on these materials' applicability and the development of new approaches will be targeted in the present review, focusing in several cases on the functioning mechanism and on the role of the noble metal.

Sliding-strip microfluidic device enables ELISA on paper

This article describes a 3D microfluidic paper-based analytical device that can be used to conduct an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The device comprises two parts: a sliding strip (which contains the active sensing area) and a structure surrounding the sliding strip (which holds stored reagents—buffers, antibodies, and enzymatic substrate—and distributes fluid). Running an ELISA involves adding sample (e.g. blood) and water, moving the sliding strip at scheduled times, and analyzing the resulting color in the sensing area visually or using a flatbed scanner. We demonstrate that this device can be used to detect C-reactive protein (CRP)—a biomarker for neonatal sepsis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and inflammatory bowel diseases—at a concentration range of 1–100 ng/mL in 1000-fold diluted blood (1–100 µg/mL in undiluted blood). The accuracy of the device (as characterized by the area under the receiver operator characteristics curve) is 89% and 83% for cut-offs of 10 ng/mL (for neonatal sepsis and pelvic inflammatory disease) and 30 ng/mL (for inflammatory bowel diseases) CRP in 1000-fold diluted blood respectively. In resource-limited settings, the device can be used as a part of a kit (containing the device, a fixed-volume capillary, a pre-filled tube, a syringe, and a dropper); this kit would cost ~ $0.50 when produced in large scale (>100,000 devices/week). This kit has the technical characteristics to be employed as a pre-screening tool, when combined with other data such as patient history and clinical signs.

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3D microfluidic paper-based analytical device performs ELISA with colorimetric results.

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Two components enable separation of reagents in the device: a sliding-strip and a functional dock.

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All required reagents (antibodies, enzyme, substrate, buffers) are stored in the device.

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User only needs to add sample and water using the provided kit.

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Device can detect C-reactive protein for possible pre-screening of neonatal sepsis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or inflammatory bowel diseases.

Lipopolysaccharides detection on a grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance smartphone biosensor

We report a smartphone label-free biosensor platform based on grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GC-SPR). The sensor system relies on the smartphone's built-in flash light source and camera, a disposable sensor chip with Au diffraction grating and a compact disk (CD) as the spectra dispersive unit. The Au grating sensor chip was modified with a synthetic peptide receptor and employed on the GC-SPR detection of lipopolysaccharides (known as endotoxins) with detection limit of 32.5ng/mL in water. Upon incubation of various small and macro-molecules with the synthetic peptide modified sensor chips, we concluded the good selectivity of the sensor for LPS detection. In addition, the sensor shows feasibility for the detection of LPS in commonly used clinical injectable fluids, such as clinical-grade 0.9% sodium chloride intravenous infusion, compound sodium lactate intravenous infusion and insulin aspart. The developed sensor platform offers the advantage of portability and simplicity, which is attractive for point-of-care and remote detection of biomedical and environmental targets.

Noble metal nanoparticles in biosensors: recent studies and applications

The aim of this review is to cover advances in noble metal nanoparticle (MNP)-based biosensors and to outline the principles and main functions of MNPs in different classes of biosensors according to the transduction methods employed. The important biorecognition elements are enzymes, antibodies, aptamers, DNA sequences, and whole cells. The main readouts are electrochemical (amperometric and voltametric), optical (surface plasmon resonance, colorimetric, chemiluminescence, photoelectrochemical, etc.) and piezoelectric. MNPs have received attention for applications in biosensing due to their fascinating properties. These properties include a large surface area that enhances biorecognizers and receptor immobilization, good ability for reaction catalysis and electron transfer, and good biocompatibility. MNPs can be used alone and in combination with other classes of nanostructures. MNP-based sensors can lead to significant signal amplification, higher sensitivity, and great improvements in the detection and quantification of biomolecules and different ions. Some recent examples of biomolecular sensors using MNPs are given, and the effects of structure, shape, and other physical properties of noble MNPs and nanohybrids in biosensor performance are discussed.

Smartphone-Based Food Diagnostic Technologies: A Review

A new generation of mobile sensing approaches offers significant advantages over traditional platforms in terms of test speed, control, low cost, ease-of-operation, and data management, and requires minimal equipment and user involvement. The marriage of novel sensing technologies with cellphones enables the development of powerful lab-on-smartphone platforms for many important applications including medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and food safety analysis. This paper reviews the recent advancements and developments in the field of smartphone-based food diagnostic technologies, with an emphasis on custom modules to enhance smartphone sensing capabilities. These devices typically comprise multiple components such as detectors, sample processors, disposable chips, batteries and software, which are integrated with a commercial smartphone. One of the most important aspects of developing these systems is the integration of these components onto a compact and lightweight platform that requires minimal power. To date, researchers have demonstrated several promising approaches employing various sensing techniques and device configurations. We aim to provide a systematic classification according to the detection strategy, providing a critical discussion of strengths and weaknesses. We have also extended the analysis to the food scanning devices that are increasingly populating the Internet of Things (IoT) market, demonstrating how this field is indeed promising, as the research outputs are quickly capitalized on new start-up companies.

Paper strip-embedded graphene quantum dots: a screening device with a smartphone readout

Simple, inexpensive and rapid sensing systems are very demanded for a myriad of uses. Intrinsic properties of emerging paper-based analytical devices have demonstrated considerable potential to fulfill such demand. This work reports an easy-to-use, low cost, and disposable paper-based sensing device for rapid chemical screening with a smartphone readout. The device comprises luminescent graphene quantum dots (GQDs) sensing probes embedded into a nitrocellulose matrix where the resonance energy transfer phenomenon seems to be the sensing mechanism. The GQDs probes were synthesized from citric acid by a pyrolysis procedure, further physisorbed and confined into small wax-traced spots on the nitrocellulose substrate. The GQDs were excited by an UV LED, this, is powered by a smartphone used as both; energy source and imaging capture. The LED was contained within a 3D-printed dark chamber that isolates the paper platform from external light fluctuations leading to highly reproducible data. The cellulose-based device was proven as a promising screening tool for phenols and polyphenols in environmental and food samples, respectively. It opens up new opportunities for simple and fast screening of organic compounds and offers numerous possibilities for versatile applications. It can be especially useful in remote settings where sophisticated instrumentation is not always available.

Smartphone-based enzymatic biosensor for oral fluid L-lactate detection in one minute using confined multilayer paper reflectometry

The development of smartphone-based biosensors for point-of-care testing (POCT) applications allows realizing "all in one" instruments, with large potential distribution among the general population. With this respect, paper color-based detection performed by reflectance measurement is the most popular, simple, inexpensive and straightforward method. Despite the large number of scientific publications related to these biosensors, they still suffer from a poor detectability and reproducibility related to inhomogeneity of color development, which leads to low assay reproducibility. To overcome these problems, we propose a smartphone paper-based biosensor, in which all the reagents necessary to complete the analysis are co-entrapped on paper in a "wafer"-like bilayer film of polyelectrolytes (Poly (allyl amine hydrochloride/poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate)). Using a 3D printing low-cost technology we fabricated the smartphone-based device that consists in a cover accessory attached to the smartphone and incorporating a light diffuser over the flash to improve the image quality, a mini dark box and a disposable analytical cartridge containing all the reagents necessary for the complete analysis. The biosensor was developed exploiting coupled enzyme reactions for quantifying L-lactate in oral fluid, which is considered a biomarker of poor tissue perfusion, a key element in the management of severe sepsis, septic shock and in sports performance evaluation. The developed method is sensitive, rapid, and it allows detecting L-lactate in oral fluid in the relevant physiological range, with a limit of detection of 0.1mmolL^-1. The extreme simplicity of assay execution (no reagents need to be added) and flexibility of fabrication of the device, together with the high assay versatility (any oxidase can be coupled with HRP-based color change reaction) make our approach suitable for the realization of smartphone-based biosensors able to non-invasively detect a large variety of analytes of clinical interest.

Polyion oligonucleotide-decorated gold nanoparticles with tunable surface charge density for amplified signal output of potentiometric immunosensor

Methods based on nanostructures have been developed for potentiometric immunosensors, but most involve low sensitivity or weak signal output and are unsuitable for routine use in diagnosis. Herein, we devise an in-situ signal-amplification strategy for enhanced electrical readout of potentiometric immunosensor toward target prostate-specific antigen (PSA, one kind of cancer biomarkers), based on polyion oligonucleotide-labeled gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). To decrease the background signal, monoclonal anti-human PSA capture antibody was covalently conjugated onto an activated glassy carbon electrode via typical carbodiimide coupling. AuNPs heavily functionalized with the polyion oligonucleotides and polyclonal anti-PSA detection antibodies (pAb₂-AuNP-DNA) were utilized as the signal-generation nanotags. In the presence of target PSA, a sandwich-type immunoreaction was executed between capture antibody and detection antibody on the electrode. The detectable signal derived from the shift in the electric potential as a result of the change in the surface charge before and after the antigen-antibody reaction. With target PSA increased, the captured pAb₂-AuNP-DNA to the electrode accompanying detection antibody increased, thereby resulting in the change of the electrode potential. Due to numerous polyion oligonucleotides with the negative charge, the signal readout amplified. Under the optimal conditions, the shift in the output potential was proportional to the logarithm of target PSA concentration and displayed a dynamic linear range from 0.05 to 20 ng mL^-1 with a detection limit of 13.6 pg mL^-1. An intermediate precision of ≤13.2% was accomplished with the batch-to-batch identification. The selectivity was acceptable. The method accuracy was evaluated for human serum specimens, and gave the consistent results between the potentiometric immunosensor and the referenced enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Chirped guided-mode resonance biosensor

Advanced biomedical diagnostic technologies fulfill an important role in improving health and well-being in society. A large number of excellent technologies have already been introduced and have given rise to the "lab-on-a-chip" paradigm. Most of these technologies, however, require additional instrumentation for interfacing and readout, so they are often confined to the laboratory and are not suitable for use in the field or in wider clinical practice. Other technologies require a light coupling element, such as a grating coupler or a fiber coupler, which complicates packaging. Here, we introduce a novel biosensor based on a chirped guided-mode resonant grating. The chirped grating combines the sensing function with the readout function by translating spectral information into spatial information that is easily read out with a simple CMOS camera. We demonstrate a refractive index sensitivity of 137 nm/RIU and an extrapolated limit of detection of 267 pM for the specific binding of an immunoglobulin G antibody. The chirped guided-mode resonance approach introduces a new degree of freedom for sensing biomedical information that combines high sensitivity with autonomous operation. We estimate that the cost of components is U.S. $10 or less when mass manufactured, so the technology has the potential to truly transform point-of-care applications.