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17 pages, 10836 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design of Mantis-Shrimp-Inspired Multifunctional Imaging Sensors with Simultaneous Spectrum and Polarization Detection Capability at a Wide Waveband

by Tianxin Wang, Shuai Wang, Bo Gao, Chenxi Li and Weixing Yu

Sensors 2024, 24(5), 1689; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24051689 - 06 Mar 2024

Viewed by 483

Abstract

The remarkable light perception abilities of the mantis shrimp, which span a broad spectrum ranging from 300 nm to 720 nm and include the detection of polarized light, serve as the inspiration for our exploration. Drawing insights from the mantis shrimp’s unique visual [...] Read more.

The remarkable light perception abilities of the mantis shrimp, which span a broad spectrum ranging from 300 nm to 720 nm and include the detection of polarized light, serve as the inspiration for our exploration. Drawing insights from the mantis shrimp’s unique visual system, we propose the design of a multifunctional imaging sensor capable of concurrently detecting spectrum and polarization across a wide waveband. This sensor is able to show spectral imaging capability through the utilization of a 16-channel multi-waveband Fabry–Pérot (FP) resonator filter array. The design incorporates a composite thin film structure comprising metal and dielectric layers as the reflector of the resonant cavity. The resulting metal–dielectric composite film FP resonator extends the operating bandwidth to cover both visible and infrared regions, specifically spanning a broader range from 450 nm to 900 nm. Furthermore, within this operational bandwidth, the metal–dielectric composite film FP resonator demonstrates an average peak transmittance exceeding 60%, representing a notable improvement over the metallic resonator. Additionally, aluminum-based metallic grating arrays are incorporated beneath the FP filter array to capture polarization information. This innovative approach enables the simultaneous acquisition of spectrum and polarization information using a single sensor device. The outcomes of this research hold promise for advancing the development of high-performance, multifunctional optical sensors, thereby unlocking new possibilities in the field of optical information acquisition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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12 pages, 2705 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Label-Free Detection of CA19-9 Using a BSA/Graphene-Based Antifouling Electrochemical Immunosensor

by Wei Chen, Miaomiao Chi, Miaomiao Wang, Yage Liu, Shu Kong, Liping Du, Jian Wang and Chunsheng Wu

Sensors 2023, 23(24), 9693; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23249693 - 08 Dec 2023

Viewed by 906

Abstract

Evaluating the levels of the biomarker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is crucial in early cancer diagnosis and prognosis assessment. In this study, an antifouling electrochemical immunosensor was developed for the label-free detection of CA19-9, in which bovine serum albumin (BSA) and graphene were [...] Read more.

Evaluating the levels of the biomarker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is crucial in early cancer diagnosis and prognosis assessment. In this study, an antifouling electrochemical immunosensor was developed for the label-free detection of CA19-9, in which bovine serum albumin (BSA) and graphene were cross-linked with the aid of glutaraldehyde to form a 3D conductive porous network on the surface of an electrode. The electrochemical immunosensor was characterized through the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), UV spectroscopy, and electrochemical methods. The level of CA19-9 was determined through the use of label-free electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The electron transfer at the interface of the electrode was well preserved in human serum samples, demonstrating that this electrochemical immunosensor has excellent antifouling performance. CA19-9 could be detected in a wide range from 13.5 U/mL to 1000 U/mL, with a detection limit of 13.5 U/mL in human serum samples. This immunosensor also exhibited good selectivity and stability. The detection results of this immunosensor were further validated and compared using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the results confirmed that this immunosensor has a good sensing performance in terms of CA19-9, suggesting its promising application prospects in clinical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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10 pages, 1409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrical Properties of Taste Sensors with Positively Charged Lipid Membranes Composed of Amines and Ammonium Salts

by Kentaro Watanabe, Tatsukichi Watanabe, Shunsuke Kimura, Hidekazu Ikezaki and Kiyoshi Toko

Sensors 2023, 23(19), 8145; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23198145 - 28 Sep 2023

Viewed by 667

Abstract

Currently, taste sensors utilizing lipid polymer membranes are utilized to assess the taste of food products quantitatively. During this process, it is crucial to identify and quantify basic tastes, e.g., sourness and sweetness, while ensuring that there is no response to tasteless substances. [...] Read more.

Currently, taste sensors utilizing lipid polymer membranes are utilized to assess the taste of food products quantitatively. During this process, it is crucial to identify and quantify basic tastes, e.g., sourness and sweetness, while ensuring that there is no response to tasteless substances. For instance, suppression of responses to anions, like tasteless NO₃⁻ ions contained in vegetables, is essential. However, systematic electrochemical investigations have not been made to achieve this goal. In this study, we fabricated three positively charged lipid polymer membranes containing oleylamine (OAm), trioctylemethylammonium chloride (TOMACl), or tetradodecylammonium bromide (TDAB) as lipids, and sensors that consist of these membranes to investigate the potential change characteristics of these sensors in solutions containing different anions (F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, NO₃⁻, I⁻). The ability of each anion solution to reduce the positive charge on membranes and shift the membrane potential in the negative direction was in the following order: I⁻ > NO₃⁻ > Br⁻ > Cl⁻ > F⁻. This order well reflected the order of size of the hydrated ions, related to their hydration energy. Additionally, the OAm sensor displayed low ion selectivity, whereas the TOMACl and TDAB sensors showed high ion selectivity related to the OAm sensor. Such features in ion selectivity are suggested to be due to the variation in positive charge with the pH of the environment and packing density of the OAm molecule in the case of the OAm sensor and due to the strong and constant positive charge created by complete ionization of lipids in the case of TOMACl and TDAB sensors. Furthermore, it was revealed that the ion selectivity varies by changing the lipid concentration in each membrane. These results contribute to developing sensor membranes that respond to different anion species selectively and creating taste sensors capable of suppressing responses to tasteless anions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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13 pages, 2930 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gas-Phase Biosensors (Bio-Sniffers) for Measurement of 2-Nonenal, the Causative Volatile Molecule of Human Aging-Related Body Odor

by Kenta Iitani, Hidehisa Mori, Kenta Ichikawa, Koji Toma, Takahiro Arakawa, Yasuhiko Iwasaki and Kohji Mitsubayashi

Sensors 2023, 23(13), 5857; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23135857 - 24 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1536

Abstract

The molecule 2-nonenal is renowned as the origin of unpleasant human aging-related body odor that can potentially indicate age-related metabolic changes. Most 2-nonenal measurements rely on chromatographic analytical systems, which pose challenges in terms of daily usage and the ability to track changes [...] Read more.

The molecule 2-nonenal is renowned as the origin of unpleasant human aging-related body odor that can potentially indicate age-related metabolic changes. Most 2-nonenal measurements rely on chromatographic analytical systems, which pose challenges in terms of daily usage and the ability to track changes in concentration over time. In this study, we have developed liquid- and gas-phase biosensors (bio-sniffers) with the aim of enabling facile and continuous measurement of trans-2-nonenal vapor. Initially, we compared two types of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) [NAD(P)]-dependent enzymes that have the catalytic ability of trans-2-nonenal: aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and enone reductase 1 (ER1). The developed sensor quantified the trans-2-nonanal concentration by measuring fluorescence (excitation: 340 nm, emission: 490 nm) emitted from NAD(P)H that was generated or consumed by ALDH or ER1. The ALDH biosensor reacted to a variety of aldehydes including trans-2-nonenal, whereas the ER1 biosensor showed high selectivity. In contrast, the ALDH bio-sniffer showed quantitative characteristics for trans-2-nonenal vapor at a concentration range of 0.4–7.5 ppm (with a theoretical limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.23 and 0.26 ppm, respectively), including a reported concentration (0.85–4.35 ppm), whereas the ER1 bio-sniffer detected only 0.4 and 0.8 ppm. Based on these findings, headspace gas of skin-wiped alcohol-absorbed cotton collected from study participants in their 20s and 50s was measured by the ALDH bio-sniffer. Consequently, age-related differences in signals were observed, suggesting the potential for measuring trans-2-nonenal vapor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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19 pages, 4903 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Array of Miniaturized Amperometric Gas Sensors Using Atomic Gold Decorated Pt/PANI Electrodes in Room Temperature Ionic Liquid Films

by Anifatul Faricha, Shohei Yoshida, Parthojit Chakraborty, Keisuke Okamoto, Tso-Fu Mark Chang, Masato Sone and Takamichi Nakamoto

Sensors 2023, 23(8), 4132; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23084132 - 20 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1165

Abstract

Miniaturized sensors possess many advantages, such as rapid response, easy chip integration, a possible lower concentration of target compound detection, etc. However, a major issue reported is a low signal response. In this study, a catalyst, the atomic gold clusters of Au_n [...] Read more.

Miniaturized sensors possess many advantages, such as rapid response, easy chip integration, a possible lower concentration of target compound detection, etc. However, a major issue reported is a low signal response. In this study, a catalyst, the atomic gold clusters of Au_n where n = 2, was decorated at a platinum/polyaniline (Pt/PANI) working electrode to enhance the sensitivity of butanol isomers gas measurement. Isomer quantification is challenging because this compound has the same chemical formula and molar mass. Furthermore, to create a tiny sensor, a microliter of room-temperature ionic liquid was used as an electrolyte. The combination of the Au₂ clusters decorated Pt/PANI and room temperature ionic liquid with several fixed electrochemical potentials was explored to obtain a high solubility of each analyte. According to the results, the presence of Au₂ clusters increased the current density due to electrocatalytic activity compared to the electrode without Au₂ clusters. In addition, the Au₂ clusters on the modified electrode had a more linear concentration dependency trend than the modified electrode without atomic gold clusters. Finally, the separation among butanol isomers was enhanced using different combination of room-temperature ionic liquids and fixed potentials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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12 pages, 387 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Optimization of a Highly Sensitive Sensor to Quinine-Based Saltiness Enhancement Effect

by Yifei Jing, Kentaro Watanabe, Tatsukichi Watanabe, Shunsuke Kimura and Kiyoshi Toko

Sensors 2023, 23(6), 3178; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23063178 - 16 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1294

Abstract

The saltiness enhancement effect can be produced by adding specific substances to dietary salt (sodium chloride). This effect has been used in salt-reduced food to help people forge healthy eating habits. Therefore, it is necessary to objectively evaluate the saltiness of food based [...] Read more.

The saltiness enhancement effect can be produced by adding specific substances to dietary salt (sodium chloride). This effect has been used in salt-reduced food to help people forge healthy eating habits. Therefore, it is necessary to objectively evaluate the saltiness of food based on this effect. In a previous study, sensor electrodes based on lipid/polymer membrane with Na⁺ ionophore have been proposed to quantify the saltiness enhanced by branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), citric acid, and tartaric acid. In this study, we developed a new saltiness sensor with the lipid/polymer membrane to quantify the saltiness enhancement effect of quinine by replacing a lipid that caused an unexpected initial drop in the previous study with another new lipid. As a result, the concentrations of lipid and ionophore were optimized to produce an expected response. Logarithmic responses have been found on both NaCl samples and quinine-added NaCl samples. The findings indicate the usage of lipid/polymer membranes on novel taste sensors to evaluate the saltiness enhancement effect accurately. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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Review

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28 pages, 7313 KiB

Open AccessReview

Improvement of Sensitivity and Speed of Virus Sensing Technologies Using nm- and μm-Scale Components

by Masato Yasuura, Zheng Lin Tan, Yukichi Horiguchi, Hiroki Ashiba and Takashi Fukuda

Sensors 2023, 23(15), 6830; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23156830 - 31 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1188

Abstract

Various viral diseases can be widespread and cause severe disruption to global society. Highly sensitive virus detection methods are needed to take effective measures to prevent the spread of viral infection. This required the development of rapid virus detection technology to detect viruses [...] Read more.

Various viral diseases can be widespread and cause severe disruption to global society. Highly sensitive virus detection methods are needed to take effective measures to prevent the spread of viral infection. This required the development of rapid virus detection technology to detect viruses at low concentrations, even in the biological fluid of patients in the early stages of the disease or environmental samples. This review describes an overview of various virus detection technologies and then refers to typical technologies such as beads-based assay, digital assay, and pore-based sensing, which are the three modern approaches to improve the performance of viral sensing in terms of speed and sensitivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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12 pages, 3313 KiB

Open AccessReview

Human Olfactory Receptor Sensor for Odor Reconstitution

by Shun’ichi Kuroda, Yukiko Nakaya-Kishi, Kenji Tatematsu and Shuji Hinuma

Sensors 2023, 23(13), 6164; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23136164 - 05 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2196

Abstract

Among the five human senses, light, sound, and force perceived by the eye, ear, and skin, respectively are physical phenomena, and therefore can be easily measured and expressed as objective, univocal, and simple digital data with physical quantity. However, as taste and odor [...] Read more.

Among the five human senses, light, sound, and force perceived by the eye, ear, and skin, respectively are physical phenomena, and therefore can be easily measured and expressed as objective, univocal, and simple digital data with physical quantity. However, as taste and odor molecules perceived by the tongue and nose are chemical phenomena, it has been difficult to express them as objective and univocal digital data, since no reference chemicals can be defined. Therefore, while the recording, saving, transmitting to remote locations, and replaying of human visual, auditory, and tactile information as digital data in digital devices have been realized (this series of data flow is defined as DX (digital transformation) in this review), the DX of human taste and odor information is not yet in the realization stage. Particularly, since there are at least 400,000 types of odor molecules and an infinite number of complex odors that are mixtures of these molecules, it has been considered extremely difficult to realize “human olfactory DX” by converting all odors perceived by human olfaction into digital data. In this review, we discuss the current status and future prospects of the development of “human olfactory DX”, which we believe can be realized by utilizing odor sensors that employ the olfactory receptors (ORs) that support human olfaction as sensing molecules (i.e., human OR sensor). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature Inspired Engineering: Biomimetic Sensors)

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