Biosensors and Their Applications in Disease Characterization and Diagnosis

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "B1: Biosensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 3177

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA 71272, USA
Interests: point-of-care diagnostics; biosensors; bioMEMS; biofuel cells

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research and development in relation to biosensors have experienced remarkable growth driven by advancements in micro and nanofabrication techniques. These innovations have led to the creation of miniaturized, portable biosensing technologies with diverse applications. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of these biosensors has improved access to health care in low-resource settings and underserved populations, access that was previously limited by traditional, centralized healthcare facilities and diagnostic laboratories, as highlighted during the recent pandemic.

This Special Issue, entitled “Biosensors and Their Applications in Disease Characterization and Diagnosis”, aims to showcase recent developments in the applications of biosensors as cost-effective, portable, and user-friendly diagnostic tools. In addition, it investigates employing biosensors in providing new insights into the impact of diseases on human health at the cellular, tissue, and organ levels. We invite authors to submit original research articles, short communications, and review papers that introduce novel biosensing technologies for medical applications, particularly in the diagnosis, disease characterization, and monitoring of treatments.

Dr. Arwa Fraiwan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • diagnostics
  • point-of-care
  • disease characterization
  • cell-based sensors
  • biochemical sensors
  • microbial sensors

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

30 pages, 2526 KB  
Review
Electrochemical Biosensing for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions
by Muhib Ullah Khan, Md. Munibur Rahman, Nusrat Zahan, Mostafa Kamal Masud, Subir Sarker and Md. Hakimul Haque
Micromachines 2025, 16(9), 986; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16090986 - 28 Aug 2025
Viewed by 828
Abstract
The rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ABR) presents an urgent global health challenge, necessitating the development of efficient and scalable diagnostic technologies. Electrochemical biosensors have emerged as a promising solution, offering high sensitivity, specificity, and adaptability for point-of-care applications. These innovative platforms utilize [...] Read more.
The rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ABR) presents an urgent global health challenge, necessitating the development of efficient and scalable diagnostic technologies. Electrochemical biosensors have emerged as a promising solution, offering high sensitivity, specificity, and adaptability for point-of-care applications. These innovative platforms utilize bio-recognition elements, advanced electrode materials, microbial enzymes, and redox-active metabolites to identify antibiotic resistance profiles at a molecular level. Recent progress in microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip systems has enabled real-time, high-throughput antimicrobial susceptibility testing, significantly improving diagnostic precision and speed. This review aims to critically evaluate recent advances in electrochemical biosensing strategies for detecting ABR, identify key challenges, and propose future directions to enhance clinical applicability. Key developments include bio-receptor-based detection strategies, novel electrode surfaces, and multiplexed platforms integrated with microfluidic systems. Additionally, this review examines essential biomarkers for detecting antibiotic resistance and explores key challenges, including variability in biomarker expression and sensor reproducibility. It also highlights practical barriers to clinical implementation, such as cost constraints and scalability concerns. By presenting innovative approaches, such as cost-effective material alternatives, advanced analytical techniques, and portable biosensing systems, this review outlines a strategic pathway for enhancing the accessibility and effectiveness of electrochemical biosensors in antibiotic resistance management. Full article
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34 pages, 6553 KB  
Review
Recent Advances in Photonic Crystal Fiber-Based SPR Biosensors: Design Strategies, Plasmonic Materials, and Applications
by Ayushman Ramola, Amit Kumar Shakya, Vinay Kumar and Arik Bergman
Micromachines 2025, 16(7), 747; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16070747 - 25 Jun 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2035
Abstract
This article presents a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based sensors, with a particular focus on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon for biosensing. With their ability to modify core and cladding structures, PCFs offer exceptional control over light [...] Read more.
This article presents a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based sensors, with a particular focus on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon for biosensing. With their ability to modify core and cladding structures, PCFs offer exceptional control over light guidance, dispersion management, and light confinement, making them highly suitable for applications in refractive index (RI) sensing, biomedical imaging, and nonlinear optical phenomena such as fiber tapering and supercontinuum generation. SPR is a highly sensitive optical phenomenon, which is widely integrated with PCFs to enhance detection performance through strong plasmonic interactions at metal–dielectric interfaces. The combination of PCF and SPR technologies has led to the development of innovative sensor geometries, including D-shaped fibers, slotted-air-hole structures, and internal external metal coatings, each optimized for specific sensing goals. These PCF-SPR-based sensors have shown promising results in detecting biomolecular targets such as excess cholesterol, glucose, cancer cells, DNA, and proteins. Furthermore, this review provides an in-depth analysis of key design parameters, plasmonic materials, and sensor models used in PCF-SPR configurations, highlighting their comparative performance metrics and application prospects in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and chemical analysis. Thus, an exhaustive analysis of various sensing parameters, plasmonic materials, and sensor models used in PCF-SPR sensors is presented and explored in this article. Full article
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