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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 60792

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Oh Seok Kwon

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Guest Editor

Korea Research Institutes for Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 305-806, Republic of Korea
Interests: conductive nanomaterials; interfacing chemistry; optical nanomaterials; electronics; chem/bio sensors; optical sensors; point-of-care test
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The inherent biocompatibility, and the unique optical, electrical, and mechanical properties of polymers have attracted attention from various fields, such as energy, as well as environmental and bio-applications. Especially, polymer-based biosensors, including enzyme-, tissue-, DNA-, aptamer-, and protein-based biosensors, have been rapidly developed, owing to their high-performances. There are various detection methodologies for polymer-based biosensors, including electrochemical, optical, field-effect transistor, lateral flow assay, etc. Moreover, polymer-related materials, such as conducting polymer nanomaterials, polymer composites, polymer beads, and hybrids, have been designed and created. Although biosensors with these conventional polymers showed high-performance sensing properties, the challenges remain to enhance a maximum detectable level (MDL) of biosensors: i) enlarged surface to volume ratios; ii) development of interfacing chemistry including surface modification and interfacial adhesion; iii) high stability from surrounding environments; iv) novel sensing systems, and so on. In addition, industrial approaches with high reliability in a multitude of fields are also important issues. Notably, polymer-based biosensors for healthcare monitoring have been investigated and integrated into smart devices to collect a large amount of sensing data.

This Special Issue invites original papers and reviews reporting on recent progress in the following areas:

- Fabrication methods of the polymers with enlarged surface areas and their biosensor applications
- Chemical and physical surface modification of polymers to improve sensing performances
- Next-generation polymer-based biosensors
- Integration process of polymer-based biosensors into smart devices and their point-of-care test
- Properties of polymer-based biosensors
- Biological properties of polymer-based biosensors

Dr. Oh Seok Kwon
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

Polymers
Composites
Beads
Hybrids
Hard-template
Soft-template
Biosensors
Immunoassay
Field-effect transistor
Electrochemical sensor
Optical sensor
Rapid Kit
Mobile networks
Point-of-care test
Interfacing chemistry
Biomolecular detection
Surface modification

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly Selective and Reproducible Electrochemical Sensing of Ascorbic Acid Through a Conductive Polymer Coated Electrode

by Salma Bilal, Ayesha Akbar and Anwar-ul-Haq Ali Shah

Polymers 2019, 11(8), 1346; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11081346 - 13 Aug 2019

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 6069

Abstract

The surface of an Au-disc electrode was modified through electro polymerization of aniline, in the presence of dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid (DBSA) and sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) solution. The polymerization conditions were pre-optimized so that micelle formation and solution coagulation could be minimized and surfactant doped polyaniline film could be obtained through a quick, simple and one step polymerization route. The synthesized material was characterized via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The effective surface area of the Au-disc, calculated through cyclic voltammetry, was immensely increased through a polyaniline (PANI) coating (0.04 and 0.11 cm² for bare and PANI coated gold respectively). The modified electrode was utilized for ascorbic acid (AA) sensing. The changing pH of electrolyte and scan rate influenced the PANI electrode response towards AA. The modified electrode was highly selective towards AA oxidation and showed a very low limit of detection i.e. 0.0267 μmol·L^–1. Moreover, the PANI coating greatly reduced the sensing potential for AA by a value of around 140 mV when compared to that on a bare gold electrode. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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13 pages, 4235 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Universal Photochemical Method to Prepare Carbohydrate Sensors Based on Perfluorophenylazide Modified Polydopamine for Study of Carbohydrate-Lectin Interactions by QCM Biosensor

by Lili Guo, Shuang Chao, Pei Huang, Xiukai Lv, Quanquan Song, Chunli Wu, Yuxin Pei and Zhichao Pei

Polymers 2019, 11(6), 1023; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11061023 - 10 Jun 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3257

Abstract

A universal photochemical method to prepare carbohydrate sensors based on perfluorophenylazide (PFPA) modified polydopamine (PDA) for the study of carbohydrate–lectin interactions by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) biosensor was developed. The PFPA was immobilized on PDA-coated gold sensors via Schiff base reactions. Upon light irradiation, the underivatized carbohydrates were inserted into the sensor surface, including mannose, galactose, fucose and N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Carbohydrate sensors were evaluated for the binding to a series of plant lectins. A kinetic study of the interactions between mannose and concanavalin A (Con A), fucose and Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEA-I) were performed. This method can eliminate the tedious modification of carbohydrates, improve the experimental efficiency, and reduce the experimental cost, which is of great significance for the development of QCM biosensors and the study of biomolecular interactions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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11 pages, 2919 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Carbohydrate Chips Based on Polydopamine for Real-Time Determination of Carbohydrate–Lectin Interactions by QCM Biosensor

by Kun Shang, Siyu Song, Yaping Cheng, Lili Guo, Yuxin Pei, Xiaomeng Lv, Teodor Aastrup and Zhichao Pei

Polymers 2018, 10(11), 1275; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10111275 - 16 Nov 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4891

Abstract

A novel approach for preparing carbohydrate chips based on polydopamine (PDA) surface to study carbohydrate–lectin interactions by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) biosensor instrument has been developed. The amino-carbohydrates were immobilized on PDA-coated quartz crystals via Schiff base reaction and/or Michael addition reaction. The resulting carbohydrate-chips were applied to QCM biosensor instrument with flow-through system for real-time detection of lectin–carbohydrate interactions. A series of plant lectins, including wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), concanavalin A (Con A), Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEA-I), soybean agglutinin (SBA), and peanut agglutinin (PNA), were evaluated for the binding to different kinds of carbohydrate chips. Clearly, the results show that the predicted lectin selectively binds to the carbohydrates, which demonstrates the applicability of the approach. Furthermore, the kinetics of the interactions between Con A and mannose, WGA and N-Acetylglucosamine were studied, respectively. This study provides an efficient approach to preparing carbohydrate chips based on PDA for the lectin–carbohydrate interactions study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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10 pages, 2761 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Sensing Signal Profiles for Determination of Process Window of Flexible Sensors Based on Surface Treated PDMS/CNT Composite Patches

by Joonwon Bae, Yunjung Hwang, Seon Joo Park, Ji-Hwan Ha, Hye Jun Kim, Ayeon Jang, Jaieun An, Chang-Soo Lee and Sung-Hoon Park

Polymers 2018, 10(9), 951; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10090951 - 27 Aug 2018

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3903

Abstract

In this study, analysis of sensing signal profiles was conducted focusing on the close relationship between electrical conductivity and signal intensity in surface treated poly(dimethylsiloxane)/carbon nanotube (PDMS/CNT) composite patches for the purpose of their practical application as flexible chemical sensors. The flexible PDMS/CNT composite patches were prepared from a PDMS/CNT mixture with a two-roll apparatus. It was found that the PDMS/CNT pads showed a high electrical conductivity (10⁻¹ S/m) even at low CNT loading (0.6 wt %) and a contact angle range of 105–118°. The surface of the obtained PDMS/CNT composite patches was treated using a simple bio-conjugation method to incorporate beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) molecules onto the surface as a sensing medium, in order to detect a model compound (Methyl Paraben, MePRB). FT-IR spectra indicated that beta-cyclodextrin molecules were effectively introduced on the surface of the PDMS/CNT patches. It was shown that the sensor signal intensity was substantially dependent on the base current value, which increased with increasing CNT loading. Accordingly, the base current value was intimately associated with the electrical conductivity of the composite patches. On the other hand, the increase in current over the base current (ΔI/I₀) obtained after the addition of the model compound was inversely proportional to the CNT content. In this way, analysis on the sensing signal profiles of the flexible chemical sensor system was conducted to determine a process window. This study is a very useful springboard for future research activities, as more profound studies are necessary to fully understand sensing signal profiles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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9 pages, 2029 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel PSMA-Coated On-Off-On Fluorescent Chemosensor Based on Organic Dots with AIEgens for Detection of Copper (II), Iron (III) and Cysteine

by Rui Jiang, Na Liu, Fan Li, Wensheng Fu, Yun Zhou and Yan Zhang

Polymers 2018, 10(7), 786; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10070786 - 17 Jul 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4059

Abstract

Herein, a novel on-off-on fluorescent chemosensor for copper (II) ion (Cu²⁺), iron (III) ion (Fe³⁺) and cysteine is developed simply by the nano-precipitation method. The prepared organic dots with AIEgens (AIE dots) are advantageous over other metal ions in detecting Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ with high selectivity and sensitivity by forming agglomerations (on-off). The agglomerations formed by AIE dots and Cu²⁺ redistributed and the fluorescence was obviously recovered in the presence of cysteine (off-on). This sensor has a wide linear range for Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and cysteine. The fluorescent detection limits of AIE dots are calculated to be 107 nM for Cu²⁺, 120 nM for Fe³⁺ and 78 nM for cysteine, respectively. These results indicate that the AIE dots can be used as a potential probe for Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and cysteine detection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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9 pages, 10003 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Highly Packed Plasmonic Nanolens Array Using Polymer Nanoimprinted Nanodots for an Enhanced Fluorescence Substrate

by Mohsin Ali Badshah, Jun Kim, Hoyoung Jang and Seok-min Kim

Polymers 2018, 10(6), 649; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10060649 - 10 Jun 2018

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5385

Abstract

A simple and cost-effective fabrication method for plasmonic nanolens arrays (PNA) with a narrow gap has been proposed for fabricating enhanced fluorescence substrates, in which the fluorophores interacting with the enhanced electromagnetic field generated by localized surface plasmons provide a higher fluorescence signal. The PNA was fabricated by the sequential depositions of the SiO₂ and Ag layers on a UV-nanoimprinted nanodot array with a pitch of 500 nm, a diameter of 250 nm, and a height of 100 nm. During the deposition processes, the shape of the nanodots changed to that of nanolenses, and the gap between the nanolenses was decreased via sidewall deposition. To examine the feasibility of the fabricated PNA for enhanced fluorescence application, a streptavidin-Cy5 (SA-Cy5) conjugate dissolved in a saline buffer solution was spotted on the PNA, and the fluorescence signals of the SA-Cy5 were measured and compared with those on a bare glass substrate. The enhancement factor was affected by the gap between the nanolenses, and the maximum enhancement factor of ~128 was obtained from the PNA with a SiO₂ layer thickness of 150 nm and an Ag layer thickness of 100 nm. Finally, an electromagnetic field analysis was used to examine the fluorescence signal enhancement, and was conducted using rigorous coupled wave analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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8 pages, 2583 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Photoluminescence Enhancement of Poly(3-methylthiophene) Nanowires upon Length Variable DNA Hybridization

by Jingyuan Huang, Jinho Choi, Gil Sun Lee, Fengchun Chen, Chunzhi Cui, Long Yi Jin and Dong Hyuk Park

Polymers 2018, 10(1), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10010100 - 20 Jan 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4603

Abstract

The use of low-dimensional inorganic or organic nanomaterials has advantages for DNA and protein recognition due to their sensitivity, accuracy, and physical size matching. In this research, poly(3-methylthiophene) (P3MT) nanowires (NWs) are electrochemically prepared with dopant followed by functionalization with probe DNA (pDNA) sequence through electrostatic interaction. Various lengths of pDNA sequences (10-, 20- and 30-mer) are conjugated to the P3MT NWs respectively followed with hybridization with their complementary target DNA (tDNA) sequences. The nanoscale photoluminescence (PL) properties of the P3MT NWs are studied throughout the whole process at solid state. In addition, the correlation between the PL enhancement and the double helix DNA with various lengths is demonstrated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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4025 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of 3D Surfaces of Dextran with Different Molecule Weights for Real-Time Detection of Biomolecular Interactions by a QCM Biosensor

by Siyu Song, Yuchao Lu, Xueming Li, Shoupeng Cao, Yuxin Pei, Teodor Aastrup and Zhichao Pei

Polymers 2017, 9(9), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9090409 - 01 Sep 2017

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7936

Abstract

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) has been extensively applied in real-time and label-free biomolecular interaction studies. However, the sensitive detection by QCM technology remains challenging, mainly due to the limited surface immobilization capacity. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) carboxymethyl dextran coated gold sensor chip surface was successfully fabricated with dextran of different molecular weight (100, 500 and 2000 kDa, respectively). To evaluate the 3D carboxymethyl dextran surface immobilization capacity, the 3D surface was used for studying antigen–antibody interactions on the QCM biosensor. The results showed that the protein immobilization capacity of the 3D carboxymethyl dextran (2000 kDa) surface exceeded more than 4 times the capacity of the 2D carboxyl surface, and 2 times the capacity of the traditional 3D carboxymethyl dextran (500 kDa) surface. Furthermore, the kinetic and affinity properties of antigen–antibody interactions were performed. Most notably, the optimized 3D carboxymethyl dextran (2000 kDa) surface could be used for small molecule detection, where the binding of biotinylated oligo (0.67 kDa) reached 8.1 Hz. The results confirmed that a 3D carboxymethyl dextran (2000 kDa) surface can be exploited for sensitive detection of low molecular weight analytes, which have great potential applications for characterizing the interactions between small molecule drugs and proteins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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2311 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Surface Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Film with Poly(p-aminothiophenol) Outer Layer Coated on Gold Nanoparticles Inner Layer for Highly Sensitive and Selective Sensing Paraoxon

by Shanshan Li, Qingying Luo, Yaowen Liu, Zhiqing Zhang, Guanghui Shen, Hejun Wu, Anjun Chen, Xingyan Liu and Aidong Zhang

Polymers 2017, 9(8), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9080359 - 12 Aug 2017

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7620

Abstract

This paper presents the fabrication of a molecularly imprinted, polymer-based disposable electrochemical sensor for paraoxon (PO) determination. The sensor was based on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified with a surface molecularly imprinted poly (p-aminothiophenol) (PATP)/gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) composite film, which consisted of a PATP outer layer and an AuNPs inner layer. We report a novel strategy, combining surface molecularly imprinting and self-assembly directed electro-polymerization with high densely imprinting PO molecules in the PATP/AuNPs film. Firstly, AuNPs were in situ electrodeposited at the electrode surface, and then assembled with electropolmerizable functional monomer p-aminothiophenol (ATP). Subsequently, PO molecules were assembled onto the ATP monolayer-modified AuNPs, forming a basis of surface molecular imprinting. After that, replenished PO molecules were embedded in the PATP/AuNPs film by PO and the ATP molecular self-assembly directed electro-polymerization in the polymerization precursor mixture. The resulting imprinted PATP/AuNPs/SPCE possesses high sensitivity, affinity, and selectivity toward PO, with a low detection limit of 1 × 10⁻⁹ M. The proposed sensor was successfully applied for the determination of PO in fruit and vegetables, giving satisfactory recoveries. The strategy reported herein can be further expected to fabricate various molecular imprinted sensors for the determination of other pesticide residuals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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Review

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34 pages, 14799 KiB

Open AccessReview

Chemical Design of Functional Polymer Structures for Biosensors: From Nanoscale to Macroscale

by Kyoung Min Lee, Kyung Ho Kim, Hyeonseok Yoon and Hyungwoo Kim

Polymers 2018, 10(5), 551; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10050551 - 21 May 2018

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 11414

Abstract

Over the past decades, biosensors, a class of physicochemical detectors sensitive to biological analytes, have drawn increasing interest, particularly in light of growing concerns about human health. Functional polymeric materials have been widely researched for sensing applications because of their structural versatility and significant progress that has been made concerning their chemistry, as well as in the field of nanotechnology. Polymeric nanoparticles are conventionally used in sensing applications due to large surface area, which allows rapid and sensitive detection. On the macroscale, hydrogels are crucial materials for biosensing applications, being used in many wearable or implantable devices as a biocompatible platform. The performance of both hydrogels and nanoparticles, including sensitivity, response time, or reversibility, can be significantly altered and optimized by changing their chemical structures; this has encouraged us to overview and classify chemical design strategies. Here, we have organized this review into two main sections concerning the use of nanoparticles and hydrogels (as polymeric structures) for biosensors and described chemical approaches in relevant subcategories, which act as a guide for general synthetic strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Based Bio-Sensors)

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