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Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring

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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2023) | Viewed by 29918

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Giovanna Trivella

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Guest Editor

Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica del CNR, Pisa, Italy
Interests: interdisciplinary research; translational research; biomedical device validation

Prof. Dr. Abdelhamid Errachid

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Guest Editor

Institute of Analytical Sciences (ISA)-UMR 5280, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Interests: biosensors; impedance spectroscopy; chemosensors; biolab-on-a-chip; biofunctionalization; micro- and nanobiotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Francesca G. Bellagambi

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Guest Editor

Institute of Analytical Sciences (ISA)-UMR 5280, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
Interests: analytical chemistry; saliva analysis; exhaled breath analysis; interdisciplinary research on disease biomarkers; bioanalytical methods; biosensor validation

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Innovative technology such as sensors and biosensors would represent a powerful tool in clinical applications for identifying health and/or pathological status and monitoring changes during the subject life and activities. Early detection plays a crucial role in treatment planning and prognostic evaluation. An early assessment of the pathological status of a patient, tracing of disease progression, and monitoring of therapy efficacy are primary objectives in healthcare research. In this respect, biosensors are very promising tools for disease diagnosis as well as for monitoring stable status or acute relapses due to biomarker detection. Compared to traditional approaches, such as immunochemical methods or analytical techniques, biosensors’ main advantages are represented by their ease of use, reduced cost, portability, and possibility of online monitoring of biomarkers by in situ measurements mainly due to their integration into lab-on-chip (LoC) and point-of-care (PoC) devices, as well as the their use with fragile people (e.g., newborns, elderly, disabled people) or in extreme conditions (e.g., space missions). In addition, continuous evolution of micro- and nanobiotechnologies has provided the achievement of that level of sensitivity and accuracy that allows the implementation of biosensors in clinical research in an increasingly targeted way.

This Special Issue invites contributions, as original research articles or reviews, on the current advances in biosensor technology and improvements, especially focused on clinical and environmental monitoring applications, as well as on the improvements reached by biotechnologies, including materials, device design and fabrication, and analytical techniques. Biosensors concerning biological matrices non-invasively sampled will be particularly welcome.

Dr. Maria Giovanna Trivella
Prof. Dr. Abdelhamid Errachid
Dr. Francesca G. Bellagambi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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.

Keywords

Electrochemical sensors
Immunosensors
Optical sensors
Micro- and nanobiotechnology for health applications
Biomarkers
Point of care
Saliva
Exhaled breath
Blood
Tears
Sweat
Biological fluid analysis

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

6 pages, 666 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Assessment of NADH/NAD⁺ Redox Imbalance in Psoriatic Lesions Using the FMSF Technique: Therapeutic Aspects

by Jerzy Gebicki, Tomasz Filipiak, Andrzej Marcinek and Anna Wozniacka

Sensors 2023, 23(21), 8718; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23218718 - 25 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1232

Abstract

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been linked to psoriasis, and it may be an important underlying factor contributing to this disease. However, a precise methodology for assessing mitochondrial dysfunction has yet to be developed. One promising approach is to measure NADH autofluorescence from the affected skin areas. In this study, we show that Flow-Mediated Skin Fluorescence (FMSF) can be used for the non-invasive assessment of mitochondrial dysfunction in psoriasis. The fluorescence level at baseline and the half-time of ischemic growth (t_1/2) derived from the FMSF traces can be used for the non-invasive assessment of NADH/NAD⁺ redox imbalance in psoriatic lesions compared to unaffected skin. These results are supported by an analysis of the key FMSF parameters: Reactive Hyperemia Response (RHR) and Hypoxia Sensitivity (HS). This method not only contributes to understanding the biochemical processes involved in the etiopathogenesis of psoriasis, but it also provides a basis for identifying new drug targets and improving the treatment process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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11 pages, 2159 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of Limitations in the Detection of Antibody + Antigen Complexes Using the Silicon-on-Insulator Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor

by Vladimir Generalov, Anastasia Cheremiskina, Alexander Glukhov, Victoria Grabezhova, Margarita Kruchinina and Alexander Safatov

Sensors 2023, 23(17), 7490; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23177490 - 29 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 728

Abstract

The SOI-FET biosensor (silicon-on-insulator field-effect transistor) for virus detection is a promising device in the fields of medicine, virology, biotechnology, and the environment. However, the applications of modern biosensors face numerous problems and require improvement. Some of these problems can be attributed to sensor design, while others can be attributed to technological limitations. The aim of this work is to conduct a theoretical investigation of the “antibody + antigen” complex (AB + AG) detection processes of a SOI-FET biosensor, which may also solve some of the aforementioned problems. Our investigation concentrates on the analysis of the probability of AB + AG complex detection and evaluation. Poisson probability density distribution was used to estimate the probability of the adsorption of the target molecules on the biosensor’s surface and, consequently, to obtain correct detection results. Many implicit and unexpected causes of error detection have been identified for AB + AG complexes using SOI-FET biosensors. We showed that accuracy and time of detection depend on the number of SOI-FET biosensors on a crystal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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11 pages, 3437 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implications of the Onset of Sweating on the Sweat Lactate Threshold

by Yuta Maeda, Hiroki Okawara, Tomonori Sawada, Daisuke Nakashima, Joji Nagahara, Haruki Fujitsuka, Kaito Ikeda, Sosuke Hoshino, Yusuke Kobari, Yoshinori Katsumata, Masaya Nakamura and Takeo Nagura

Sensors 2023, 23(7), 3378; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23073378 - 23 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2104

Abstract

The relationship between the onset of sweating (OS) and sweat lactate threshold (sLT) assessed using a novel sweat lactate sensor remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the implications of the OS on the sLT. Forty healthy men performed an incremental cycling test. We monitored the sweat lactate, blood lactate, and local sweating rates to determine the sLT, blood LT (bLT), and OS. We defined participants with the OS during the warm-up just before the incremental test as the early perspiration (EP) group and the others as the regular perspiration (RP) group. Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis revealed that the OS was poorly correlated with the sLT, particularly in the EP group (EP group, r = 0.12; RP group, r = 0.56). Conversely, even in the EP group, the sLT was strongly correlated with the bLT (r = 0.74); this was also the case in the RP group (r = 0.61). Bland-Altman plots showed no bias between the mean sLT and bLT (mean difference: 19.3 s). Finally, in five cases with a later OS than bLT, the sLT tended to deviate from the bLT (mean difference, 106.8 s). The sLT is a noninvasive and continuous alternative to the bLT, independent of an early OS, although a late OS may negatively affect the sLT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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16 pages, 3107 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nano-Enriched Self-Powered Wireless Body Area Network for Sustainable Health Monitoring Services

by Bassem Mokhtar, Ishac Kandas, Mohammed Gamal, Nada Omran, Ahmed H. Hassanin and Nader Shehata

Sensors 2023, 23(5), 2633; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23052633 - 27 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2377

Abstract

Advances in nanotechnology have enabled the creation of novel materials with specific electrical and physical characteristics. This leads to a significant development in the industry of electronics that can be applied in various fields. In this paper, we propose a fabrication of nanotechnology-based materials that can be used to design stretchy piezoelectric nanofibers for energy harvesting to power connected bio-nanosensors in a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN). The bio-nanosensors are powered based on harvested energy from mechanical movements of the body, specifically the arms, joints, and heartbeats. A suite of these nano-enriched bio-nanosensors can be used to form microgrids for a self-powered wireless body area network (SpWBAN), which can be used in various sustainable health monitoring services. A system model for an SpWBAN with an energy harvesting-based medium access control protocol is presented and analyzed based on fabricated nanofibers with specific characteristics. The simulation results show that the SpWBAN outperforms and has a longer lifetime than contemporary WBAN system designs without self-powering capability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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10 pages, 2996 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optical Biosensor for the Detection of Infectious Diseases Using the Copolymer F8T2 with Application to COVID-19

by Maiara de Jesus Bassi, Maritza Araujo Todo Bom, Maria Luisa Terribile Budel, Emanuel Maltempi de Souza, Marcelo Müller dos Santos and Lucimara Stolz Roman

Sensors 2022, 22(15), 5673; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s22155673 - 29 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1916

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has accelerated the development of biosensors based on new materials and techniques. Here, we present our effort to develop a fast and affordable optical biosensor using photoluminescence spectroscopy for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection. The biosensor was fabricated with a thin layer of the semiconductor polymer Poly[(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-2,2′-bithiophene-5,5′-diyl)] (F8T2) as a signal transducer material. We mounted the biosensors by depositing a layer of F8T2 and an engineered version of RBD from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with a tag to promote hydrophobic interaction between the protein and the polymeric surface. We validated the biosensor sensitivity with decreasing anti-RBD polyclonal IgG concentrations and challenged the biosensor specificity with human serum samples from both COVID-19 negative and positive individuals. The antibody binding to the immobilized antigen shifted the F8T2 photoluminescence spectrum even at the low concentration of 0.0125 µg/mL. A volume as small as one drop of serum (100 µL) was sufficient to distinguish a positive from a negative sample without requiring multiple washing steps and secondary antibody reactions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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14 pages, 7612 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microbe-Based Sensor for Long-Term Detection of Urine Glucose

by Dunzhu Li, Yunhong Shi, Yifan Sun, Zeena Wang, Daniel K. Kehoe, Luis Romeral, Fei Gao, Luming Yang, David McCurtin, Yurii K. Gun’ko, Michael E. G. Lyons and Liwen Xiao

Sensors 2022, 22(14), 5340; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s22145340 - 17 Jul 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2158

Abstract

The development of a reusable and low-cost urine glucose sensor can benefit the screening and control of diabetes mellitus. This study focused on the feasibility of employing microbial fuel cells (MFC) as a selective glucose sensor for continuous monitoring of glucose levels in human urine. Using MFC technology, a novel cylinder sensor (CS) was developed. It had a quick response time (100 s), a large detection range (0.3–5 mM), and excellent accuracy. More importantly, the CS could last for up to 5 months. The selectivity of the CS was validated by both synthetic and actual diabetes-negative urine samples. It was found that the CS’s selectivity could be significantly enhanced by adjusting the concentration of the culture’s organic matter. The CS results were comparable to those of a commercial glucose meter (recovery ranged from 93.6% to 127.9%) when the diabetes-positive urine samples were tested. Due to the multiple advantages of high stability, low cost, and high sensitivity over urine test strips, the CS provides a novel and reliable approach for continuous monitoring of urine glucose, which will benefit diabetes assessment and control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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20 pages, 8834 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Short-Time Impedance Spectroscopy Using a Mode-Switching Nonsinusoidal Oscillator: Applicability to Biological Tissues and Continuous Measurement

by Tomiharu Yamaguchi, Emiyu Ogawa and Akinori Ueno

Sensors 2021, 21(21), 6951; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21216951 - 20 Oct 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2109

Abstract

Herein, we propose an impedance spectroscopy method using a mode-switching nonsinusoidal oscillator and apply this method for measuring the impedance of biological tissues and continuous impedance measurement. To obtain impedance spectra over a wide frequency range, we fabricated a novel nonsinusoidal oscillator incorporating binary counters and analog switches. This oscillator could periodically switch oscillation frequency through the mode switching of the feedback resistor. From the oscillation waveform at each oscillation frequency of this circuit (oscillator), we determined the impedance spectrum of a measured object using the discrete-time Fourier transform. Subsequently, we obtained the broad impedance spectrum of the measured object by merging odd-order harmonic spectral components up to the 19th order for each oscillation frequency. From the measured spectrum, the resistive and capacitive components of the circuit simulating bioimpedance were estimated with high accuracy. Moreover, the proposed method was used to measure the impedance of porcine myocardium; changes in the impedance spectrum of the myocardial tissue due to coagulation could be measured. Furthermore, rapid variations in the resistance value of a CdS photocell could be continuously measured using the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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21 pages, 1484 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Informed Attentive Predictors: A Generalisable Architecture for Prior Knowledge-Based Assisted Diagnosis of Cancers

by Han Li, Linling Qiu and Meihong Wang

Sensors 2021, 21(19), 6484; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21196484 - 28 Sep 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1887

Abstract

Due to the high mortality of many cancers and their related diseases, the prediction and prognosis techniques of cancers are being extensively studied to assist doctors in making diagnoses. Many machine-learning-based cancer predictors have been put forward, but many of them have failed to become widely utilised due to some crucial problems. For example, most methods require too much training data, which is not always applicable to institutes, and the complicated genetic mutual effects of cancers are generally ignored in many proposed methods. Moreover, a majority of these assist models are actually not safe to use, as they are generally built on black-box machine learners that lack references from related field knowledge. We observe that few machine-learning-based cancer predictors are capable of employing prior knowledge (PrK) to mitigate these issues. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a generalisable informed machine learning architecture named the Informed Attentive Predictor (IAP) to make PrK available to the predictor’s decision-making phases and apply it to the field of cancer prediction. Specifically, we make several implementations of the IAP and evaluate its performance on six TCGA datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness of our architecture as an assist system framework for actual clinical usage. The experimental results show a noticeable improvement in IAP models on accuracies, f1-scores and recall rates compared to their non-IAP counterparts (i.e., basic predictors). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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10 pages, 1901 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Strongyloidiasis Serological Analysis with Three Different Biological Probes and Their Electrochemical Responses in a Screen-Printed Gold Electrode

by Francielli C. C. Melo, Luciano P. Rodrigues, Nágilla D. Feliciano, Julia M. Costa-Cruz, Vanessa S. Ribeiro, Bruna F. Matias-Colombo, Renata P. Alves-Balvedi and Luiz R. Goulart

Sensors 2021, 21(6), 1931; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21061931 - 10 Mar 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2238

Abstract

(1) Background: The validation of biological antigens is the study’s utmost goal in biomedical applications. We evaluated three different probes with single and multiple epitopes through electrochemical detection of specific IgG in serum for human strongyloidiasis diagnosis. (2) Methods: Screen-printed gold electrodes were used and probes consisting of two single-epitope synthetic peptides (D3 and C10) with different sequences, and a multi-epitope antigen [detergent phase (DP)—hydrophobic membrane proteins]. Human serum samples from three populations were used: Strongyloides stercoralis positive, positive for other parasitic infections and negative controls. To test the immobilization of probes onto a screen-printed gold electrode and the serum IgG detection, electrochemical analyses were carried out through differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and the electrode surface analyses were recorded using atomic force microscopy. (3) Results: The electrochemical response in screen-printed gold electrodes of peptides D3 and C10 when using positive serum was significantly higher than that when using the DP. Our sensor improved sensitivity to detect strongyloidiasis. (4) Conclusions: Probes’ sequences are critical factors for differential electrochemical responses, and the D3 peptide presented the best electrochemical performance for strongyloidiasis detection, and may efficiently substitute whole antigen extracts from parasites for strongyloidiasis diagnosis in electrochemical immunosensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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Review

Jump to: Research

55 pages, 5942 KiB

Open AccessReview

Biomarkers in Cancer Detection, Diagnosis, and Prognosis

by Sreyashi Das, Mohan Kumar Dey, Ram Devireddy and Manas Ranjan Gartia

Sensors 2024, 24(1), 37; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s24010037 - 20 Dec 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2770

Abstract

Biomarkers are vital in healthcare as they provide valuable insights into disease diagnosis, prognosis, treatment response, and personalized medicine. They serve as objective indicators, enabling early detection and intervention, leading to improved patient outcomes and reduced costs. Biomarkers also guide treatment decisions by predicting disease outcomes and facilitating individualized treatment plans. They play a role in monitoring disease progression, adjusting treatments, and detecting early signs of recurrence. Furthermore, biomarkers enhance drug development and clinical trials by identifying suitable patients and accelerating the approval process. In this review paper, we described a variety of biomarkers applicable for cancer detection and diagnosis, such as imaging-based diagnosis (CT, SPECT, MRI, and PET), blood-based biomarkers (proteins, genes, mRNA, and peptides), cell imaging-based diagnosis (needle biopsy and CTC), tissue imaging-based diagnosis (IHC), and genetic-based biomarkers (RNAseq, scRNAseq, and spatial transcriptomics). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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27 pages, 1583 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Advances on Functional Nucleic-Acid Biosensors

by Xinhong Yu, Shiqi Zhang, Wenqiang Guo, Boxi Li, Yang Yang, Bingqing Xie, Ke Li and Li Zhang

Sensors 2021, 21(21), 7109; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21217109 - 26 Oct 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3386

Abstract

In the past few decades, biosensors have been gradually developed for the rapid detection and monitoring of human diseases. Recently, functional nucleic-acid (FNA) biosensors have attracted the attention of scholars due to a series of advantages such as high stability and strong specificity, as well as the significant progress they have made in terms of biomedical applications. However, there are few reports that systematically and comprehensively summarize its working principles, classification and application. In this review, we primarily introduce functional modes of biosensors that combine functional nucleic acids with different signal output modes. In addition, the mechanisms of action of several media of the FNA biosensor are introduced. Finally, the practical application and existing problems of FNA sensors are discussed, and the future development directions and application prospects of functional nucleic acid sensors are prospected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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24 pages, 10441 KiB

Open AccessReview

Infection-Mediated Clinical Biomarkers for a COVID-19 Electrical Biosensing Platform

by Reena Sri Selvarajan, Subash C. B. Gopinath, Noraziah Mohamad Zin and Azrul Azlan Hamzah

Sensors 2021, 21(11), 3829; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21113829 - 01 Jun 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4944

Abstract

The race towards the development of user-friendly, portable, fast-detection, and low-cost devices for healthcare systems has become the focus of effective screening efforts since the pandemic attack in December 2019, which is known as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Currently existing techniques such as RT-PCR, antigen–antibody-based detection, and CT scans are prompt solutions for diagnosing infected patients. However, the limitations of currently available indicators have enticed researchers to search for adjunct or additional solutions for COVID-19 diagnosis. Meanwhile, identifying biomarkers or indicators is necessary for understanding the severity of the disease and aids in developing efficient drugs and vaccines. Therefore, clinical studies on infected patients revealed that infection-mediated clinical biomarkers, especially pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins, are highly associated with COVID-19. These biomarkers are undermined or overlooked in the context of diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of infected patients. Hence, this review discusses the potential implementation of these biomarkers for COVID-19 electrical biosensing platforms. The secretion range for each biomarker is reviewed based on clinical studies. Currently available electrical biosensors comprising electrochemical and electronic biosensors associated with these biomarkers are discussed, and insights into the use of infection-mediated clinical biomarkers as prognostic and adjunct diagnostic indicators in developing an electrical-based COVID-19 biosensor are provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biosensors for Human Disease Detection and Monitoring)

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