Biosensors for Liquid Biopsy

Dear colleagues,

Liquid biopsy is to examine tumor-derived materials in biological fluids such as blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and ascites. Liquid biopsy has been shown as a novel approach for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring. The advantages of liquid biopsy include minimal invasive sample collection to avoid unnecessary surgical biopsies, valuable information which allows evaluation of time and tumor heterogeneity, and the possibility of early detection in some cases. Liquid biopsy targets circulating biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA), proteins, miRNAs, and extracellular vesicles. However, conventional analytical methods for these biomarkers, such as ELISA and PCR, are time-consuming and require centralized laboratories, experienced personnel, and bulky equipment. As a biosensor is an analytical device that converts molecular recognition of target analyte into a measurable signal, they are immediately suitable for detecting these cancer biomarkers in liquid biopsy. The emergence of micro- and nanoscale technologies has great potential to lead to the development of sensitive, rapid, user-friendly, and affordable biosensors for clinical translation.

The main objective of this Special Issue is to report advances in science and engineering-based research in biosensors for liquid biopsy based on biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells, ctDNAs, miRNAs, extracellular vesicles, etc. The research topic is devoted to promoting communications between researchers in this multidisciplinary field and sharing state-of-the-art discoveries in the development of micro-and nanomaterials for biosensing.

This Special Issue welcomes original research and review articles encompassing all aspects of biosensor development for liquid biopsy. Research topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

(1) Advanced micro- and nanosensors for liquid biopsy;

(2) Integrated technologies for biomarker separation, enrichment, and detection (including microfluidics and other unconventional techniques);

(3) Novel surface functionalization of biosensors for biological samples;

(4) Pre-clinical/clinical validation of biosensors;

(5) Biosensors for theranostics.

Dr. Ying Zhu
Dr. Gungun Lin
Dr. Esther Serrano-Pertierra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Biosensors 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 2700 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.