An aptamer–SWNT biosensor for sensitive detection of protein via mediated signal transduction

Recent Advances in Bioactive Carbon Nanotubes Based on Polymer Composites for Biosensor Applications

Recent breakthroughs in the field of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have opened up unprecedented opportunities for the development of specialized bioactive CNT-polymers for a variety of biosensor applications. The incorporation of bioactive materials, including DNA, aptamers and antibodies, into CNTs to produce composites of bioactive CNTs has attracted considerable attention. In addition, polymers are essential for the development of biosensors as they provide biocompatible conditions and are the ideal matrix for the immobilization of proteins. The numerous applications of bioactive compounds combined with the excellent chemical and physical properties of CNTs have led to the development of bioactive CNT-polymer composites. This article provides a comprehensive overview of CNT-polymer composites and new approaches to encapsulate bioactive compounds and polymers in CNTs. Finally, biosensor applications of bioactive CNT-polymer for the detection of glucose, H2O2 and cholesterol were investigated. The surface of CNT-polymer facilitates the immobilization of bioactive molecules such as DNA, enzymes or antibodies, which in turn enables the construction of state-of-the-art, future-oriented biosensors.

Carbon Nanotube (CNT)-Based Biosensors

This review focuses on recent advances in the application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for the development of sensors and biosensors. The paper discusses various configurations of these devices, including their integration in analytical devices. Carbon nanotube-based sensors have been developed for a broad range of applications including electrochemical sensors for food safety, optical sensors for heavy metal detection, and field-effect devices for virus detection. However, as yet there are only a few examples of carbon nanotube-based sensors that have reached the marketplace. Challenges still hamper the real-world application of carbon nanotube-based sensors, primarily, the integration of carbon nanotube sensing elements into analytical devices and fabrication on an industrial scale.

Advanced biomedical applications of carbon nanotube

With advances in nanotechnology, the applications of nanomaterial are developing widely and greatly. The characteristic properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) make them the most selective candidate for various multi-functional applications. The greater surface area of the CNTs in addition to the capability to manipulate the surfaces and dimensions has provided greater potential for this nanomaterial. The CNTs possess greater potential for applications in biomedicine due to their vital electrical, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The unique properties of CNT are exploited for numerous applications in the biomedical field. They are useful in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. They form novel carrier systems which are also capable of site-specific delivery of therapeutic agents. In addition, CNTs are of potential application in biosensing. Many recently reported advanced systems of CNT could be exploited for their immense potential in biomedicine in the future.

An Overview of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene for Biosensing Applications

With the development of carbon nanomaterials in recent years, there has been an explosion of interests in using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene for developing new biosensors. It is believed that employing CNTs and graphene as sensor components can make sensors more reliable, accurate, and fast due to their remarkable properties. Depending on the types of target molecular, different strategies can be applied to design sensor device. This review article summarized the important progress in developing CNT- and graphene-based electrochemical biosensors, field-effect transistor biosensors, and optical biosensors. Although CNTs and graphene have led to some groundbreaking discoveries, challenges are still remained and the state-of-the-art sensors are far from a practical application. As a conclusion, future effort has to be made through an interdisciplinary platform, including materials science, biology, and electric engineering.

Carbon nanomaterials-based electrochemical aptasensors

Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) have attracted increasing attention due to their unique electrical, optical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. CNMs are extensively applied in electronic, optoelectronic, photovoltaic and sensing devices fields, especially in bioassay technology. These excellent properties significantly depend on not only the functional atomic structures of CNMs, but also the interactions with other materials, such as gold nanoparticles, SiO2, chitosan, etc. This review systematically summarizes applications of CNMs in electrochemical aptasensors (ECASs). Firstly, definition and development of ECASs are introduced. Secondly, different ways of ECASs about working principles, classification and construction of CNMs are illustrated. Thirdly, the applications of different CNMs used in ECASs are discussed. In this review, different types of CNMs are involved such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene oxide, etc. Besides, the newly emerging CNMs and CNMs-based composites are also discoursed. Finally, we demonstrate the future prospects of CNMs-based ECASs, and some suggestions about the near future development of CNMs-based ECASs are highlighted.

Electrochemical nanomaterial-based nucleic acid aptasensors

Recent progress in the development of electrochemical nanomaterial-aptamer-based biosensors is summarized. Aptamers are nucleic acid ligands that can be generated against amino acids, drugs, proteins, and other molecules. They are isolated from a large random library of synthetic nucleic acids by an iterative process of binding, separation, and amplification, called systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). In this review, different methods of integrating aptamers with different nanomaterials and nanoparticles for electrochemical biosensing application are described.