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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 (15 November 2019) | Viewed by 69541

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Dr. Sebania Libertino

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Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystem, National Research Council of Italy, 95121 Catania, Italy
Interests: design and fabrication of Si-based microelectronic and optoelectronic devices; integration of biological molecules in Si to fabricate biosensors; design and characterization of sensing systems for environmental and precision agriculture applications
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect recent research and developments in the optical biosensing field. Optical detection is one of the most interesting sensing methods, since it allows one to measure the sample without destroing it. For this reason, it is widely used in non-invasive and personalized health monitoring. It also applied to biological research, medical analysis and diagnostics, environmental monitoring, agriculture, food safety, and security. Moreover, the use of bioreceptors can widen the optical detection system applicability and sensitivity, since nature took millions of years to perfect bioreceptors and to reduce artifacts due to the presence of interferents. Papers addressing both topics are strongly encuraged. The manuscripts can deal with, but are not limited to, the following topics:

-Optical sensing of physiological parameters;

-Optical devices for biochemical sensing;

-Optical integrated biosensor systems (lab-on-a-chip);

-Optical systems with microfluidic integration;

-Chemoluminescence;

-New bio/chemical probes for optical sensors;

-Environmental applications of optical biosensing;

-Optical biosensing applied to agriculture and food monitoring.

Both review articles and original research papers are strongly encouraged.

Dr. Sebania Libertino
Guest Editor

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.

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Keywords

optical sensing
biosensors
chemoluminescence
lab-on-a-chip
optical biomedical devices

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3134 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Alternative Approach to Detecting Cancer Cells by Multi-Directional Fluorescence Detection System Using Cost-Effective LED and Photodiode

by Kyoungrae Cho, Jeong-hyeok Seo, Gyeongyong Heo and Se-woon Choe

Sensors 2019, 19(10), 2301; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19102301 - 18 May 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4156

Abstract

The enumeration of cellular proliferation by covering from hemocytometer to flow cytometer is an important procedure in the study of cancer development. For example, hemocytometer has been popularly employed to perform manual cell counting. It is easily achieved at a low-cost, however, manual cell counting is labor-intensive and prone to error for a large number of cells. On the other hand, flow cytometer is a highly sophisticated instrument in biomedical and clinical research fields. It provides detailed physical parameters of fluorescently labeled single cells or micro-sized particles depending on the fluorescence characteristics of the target sample. Generally, optical setup to detect fluorescence uses a laser, dichroic filter, and photomultiplier tube as a light source, optical filter, and photodetector, respectively. These components are assembled to set up an instrument to measure the amount of scattering light from the target particle; however, these components are costly, bulky, and have limitations in selecting diverse fluorescence dyes. Moreover, they require multiple refined and expensive modules such as cooling or pumping systems. Thus, alternative cost-effective components have been intensively developed. In this study, a low-cost and miniaturized fluorescence detection system is proposed, i.e., costing less than 100 US dollars, which is customizable by a 3D printer and light source/filter/sensor operating at a specific wavelength using a light-emitting diode with a photodiode, which can be freely replaceable. The fluorescence detection system can quantify multi-directional scattering lights simultaneously from the fluorescently labeled cervical cancer cells. Linear regression was applied to the acquired fluorescence intensities, and excellent linear correlations (R² > 0.9) were observed. In addition, the enumeration of the cells using hemocytometer to determine its performance accuracy was analyzed by Student’s t-test, and no statistically significant difference was found. Therefore, different cell concentrations are reversely calculated, and the system can provide a rapid and cost-effective alternative to commercial hemocytometer for live cell or microparticle counting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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11 pages, 2153 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of a Waveguide-Mode Sensor to Blood Testing for Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Treponema pallidum Infection

by Shigeyuki Uno, Takenori Shimizu, Torahiko Tanaka, Hiroki Ashiba, Makoto Fujimaki, Mutsuo Tanaka, Koichi Awazu and Makoto Makishima

Sensors 2019, 19(7), 1729; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19071729 - 11 Apr 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3680

Abstract

Testing for blood-transmitted infectious agents is an important aspect of safe medical treatment. During emergencies, such as significant earthquakes, many patients need surgical treatment and/or blood transfusion. Because a waveguide mode (WM) sensor can be used as a portable, on-site blood testing device in emergency settings, we have previously developed WM sensors for detection of antibodies against hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus and for forward ABO and Rh(D) and reverse ABO blood typing. In this study, we compared signal enhancement methods using secondary antibodies conjugated with peroxidase, a fluorescent dye, and gold nanoparticles, and found that the peroxidase reaction method offers superior sensitivity while gold nanoparticles provide the most rapid detection of anti-HBs antibody. Next, we examined whether we could apply a WM sensor with signal enhancement with peroxidase or gold nanoparticles to detection of antibodies against hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus and Treponema pallidum, and HBs antigen in plasma. We showed that a WM sensor can detect significant signals of these infectious agents within 30 min. Therefore, a portable device utilizing a WM sensor can be used for on-site blood testing of infectious agents in emergency settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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19 pages, 5013 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Crop Green LAI Estimation with a New Simple Sentinel-2 LAI Index (SeLI)

by Nieves Pasqualotto, Jesús Delegido, Shari Van Wittenberghe, Michele Rinaldi and José Moreno

Sensors 2019, 19(4), 904; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19040904 - 21 Feb 2019

Cited by 99 | Viewed by 11067

Abstract

The spatial quantification of green leaf area index (LAI_green), the total green photosynthetically active leaf area per ground area, is a crucial biophysical variable for agroecosystem monitoring. The Sentinel-2 mission is with (1) a temporal resolution lower than a week, (2) a spatial resolution of up to 10 m, and (3) narrow bands in the red and red-edge region, a highly promising mission for agricultural monitoring. The aim of this work is to define an easy implementable LAI_green index for the Sentinel-2 mission. Two large and independent multi-crop datasets of in situ collected LAI_green measurements were used. Commonly used LAI_green indices applied on the Sentinel-2 10 m × 10 m pixel resulted in a validation R² lower than 0.6. By calculating all Sentinel-2 band combinations to identify high correlation and physical basis with LAI_green, the new Sentinel-2 LAI_green Index (SeLI) was defined. SeLI is a normalized index that uses the 705 nm and 865 nm centered bands, exploiting the red-edge region for low-saturating absorption sensitivity to photosynthetic vegetation. A R² of 0.708 (root mean squared error (RMSE) = 0.67) and a R² of 0.732 (RMSE = 0.69) were obtained with a linear fitting for the calibration and validation datasets, respectively, outperforming established indices. Sentinel-2 LAI_green maps are presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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18 pages, 8670 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monte Carlo Analysis of Optical Interactions in Reflectance and Transmittance Finger Photoplethysmography

by Subhasri Chatterjee and Panayiotis A. Kyriacou

Sensors 2019, 19(4), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19040789 - 15 Feb 2019

Cited by 58 | Viewed by 10384

Abstract

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive photometric technique that measures the volume changes in arterial blood. Recent studies have reported limitations in developing and optimising PPG-based sensing technologies due to unavailability of the fundamental information such as PPG-pathlength and penetration depth in a certain region of interest (ROI) in the human body. In this paper, a robust computational model of a dual wavelength PPG system was developed using Monte Carlo technique. A three-dimensional heterogeneous volume of a specific ROI (i.e., human finger) was exposed at the red (660 nm) and infrared (940 nm) wavelengths in the reflectance and transmittance modalities of PPG. The optical interactions with the individual pulsatile and non-pulsatile tissue-components were demonstrated and the optical parameters (e.g., pathlength, penetration depth, absorbance, reflectance and transmittance) were investigated. Results optimised the source-detector separation for a reflectance finger-PPG sensor. The analysis with the recorded absorbance, reflectance and transmittance confirmed the maximum and minimum impact of the dermis and bone tissue-layers, respectively, in the formation of a PPG signal. The results presented in the paper provide the necessary information to develop PPG-based transcutaneous sensors and to understand the origin of the ac and dc components of the PPG signal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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11 pages, 2547 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Range Surface Plasmon-Polariton Waveguide Biosensors for Human Cardiac Troponin I Detection

by Oleksiy Krupin and Pierre Berini

Sensors 2019, 19(3), 631; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19030631 - 2 Feb 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4680

Abstract

Straight long-range surface plasmon-polariton (LRSPP) waveguides as biosensors for label-free detection are discussed. The sensors consist of 5-μm-wide 35-nm-thick gold stripes embedded in a low-index optical-grade fluoropolymer (CYTOP^TM) with fluidic channels etched to the Au surface of the stripes. This work demonstrates the application of the LRSPP biosensors for the detection of human cardiac troponin I (cTnI) protein. cTnI is a biological marker for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), often referred to as a heart attack, which can be diagnosed by elevated levels of cTnI in patient blood. Direct and sandwich assays were developed and demonstrated over the concentration range from 1 to 1000 ng/mL, yielding detection limits of 430 pg/mL for the direct assay and 28 pg/mL for the sandwich assay (1 standard deviation), the latter being physiologically relevant to the early detection or onset of AMI. In addition, a novel approach for data analysis is proposed, where the analyte response is normalized to the response of the antibody layer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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16 pages, 7354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Strain Distribution Sensing System for Bone-Implant Interfaces Based on Digital Speckle Pattern Interferometry

by Ping Zhong, Zhisong Li, Huazheng Yang, Xin Tang and Guoxing He

Sensors 2019, 19(2), 365; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19020365 - 17 Jan 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4328

Abstract

This paper aims to provide an effective measurement method for the distribution of deformations and strains focusing on the response to external loading of bone-implant interfaces. To achieve this target, a novel speckle interference imaging method is proposed by introducing phosphate buffer saline medium, in which the samples were completely placed into a phosphate buffer saline solution medium to stable the water molecules. The stability of interferometry imaging is analyzed by using the concepts of co-occurrence matrix and moment of inertia. A series of experiments to measure load-driven deformation and strain in the bone-implant interface was carried out, and the experiments results were analyzed and discussed. It shows that the proposed method is feasible and effective for the no-contact strain measurements of biomaterials in a physiological condition. The proposed strain distribution sensing system will contribute to evaluating computational simulations and improving selection of implant designs and materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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12 pages, 2984 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Polymer Optical Fiber Tip Mass Production Etch Mechanism to Achieve CPC Shape for Improved Biosensor Performance

by Hafeez Ul Hassan, Ole Bang and Jakob Janting

Sensors 2019, 19(2), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19020285 - 12 Jan 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5535

Abstract

We report on a simple chemical etching method that enables nonlinear tapering of Polymer Optical Fiber (POF) tips to manufacture Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) fiber tips. We show that, counter-intuitively, nonlinear tapering can be achieved by first etching the core and not the cladding. The etching mechanism is modelled and etched tips are characterized both geometrically and optically in a fluorescence glucose sensor chemistry. A Zemax model of the CPC tipped sensor predicts an optimal improvement in light capturing efficiency of a factor of 3.96 compared to the conventional sensor with a plane-cut fiber tip. A batch of eight CPC fiber tips has been manufactured by the chemical etching method. The batch average showed an increase of a factor of 3.16, which is only 20% less than the predicted value. The method is reproducible and can be up-scaled for mass production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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14 pages, 4088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Etched Fiber Bragg Grating Biosensor Functionalized with Aptamers for Detection of Thrombin

by Aliya Bekmurzayeva, Kanat Dukenbayev, Madina Shaimerdenova, Ildar Bekniyazov, Takhmina Ayupova, Marzhan Sypabekova, Carlo Molardi and Daniele Tosi

Sensors 2018, 18(12), 4298; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18124298 - 6 Dec 2018

Cited by 80 | Viewed by 5979

Abstract

A biosensor based on an etched Fiber Bragg Grating (EFBG) for thrombin detection is reported. The sensing system is based on a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) with a Bragg wavelength of 1550 nm, wet-etched in hydrofluoric acid (HF) for ~27 min, to achieve sensitivity to a refractive index (RI) of 17.4 nm/RIU (refractive index unit). Subsequently, in order to perform a selective detection of thrombin, the EFBG has been functionalized with silane-coupling agent 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and a cross-linker, glutaraldehyde, for the immobilization of thrombin-binding aptamer. The biosensor has been validated for thrombin detection in concentrations ranging from 10 nM to 80 nM. The proposed sensor presents advantages with respect to other sensor configurations, based on plasmonic resonant tilted FBG or Long Period Grating (LPG), for thrombin detection. Firstly, fabricating an EFBG only requires chemical etching. Moreover, the functionalization method used in this study (silanization) allows the avoidance of complicated and expensive fabrications, such as thin film sputtering or chemical vapor deposition. Due to their characteristics, EFBG sensors are easier to multiplex and can be used in vivo. This opens new possibilities for the detection of thrombin in clinical settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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19 pages, 11333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Portable Biosensor for 2,4-Dinitrotoluene Vapors

by Marc Prante, Christian Ude, Miriam Große, Lukas Raddatz, Ulrich Krings, Gernot John, Shimshon Belkin and Thomas Scheper

Sensors 2018, 18(12), 4247; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18124247 - 3 Dec 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4738

Abstract

Buried explosive material, e.g., landmines, represent a severe issue for human safety all over the world. Most explosives consist of environmentally hazardous chemicals like 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), carcinogenic 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) and related compounds. Vapors leaking from buried landmines offer a detection marker for landmines, presenting an option to detect landmines without relying on metal detection. 2,4-Dinitrotoluene (DNT), an impurity and byproduct of common TNT synthesis, is a feasible detection marker since it is extremely volatile. We report on the construction of a wireless, handy and cost effective 2,4-dinitrotoluene biosensor combining recombinant bioluminescent bacterial cells and a compact, portable optical detection device. This biosensor could serve as a potential alternative to the current detection technique. The influence of temperature, oxygen and different immobilization procedures on bioluminescence were tested. Oxygen penetration depth in agarose gels was investigated, and showed that aeration with molecular oxygen is necessary to maintain bioluminescence activity at higher cell densities. Bioluminescence was low even at high cell densities and 2,4-DNT concentrations, hence optimization of different prototypes was carried out regarding radiation surface of the gels used for immobilization. These findings were applied to sensor construction, and 50 ppb gaseous 2,4-DNT was successfully detected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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16 pages, 4126 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fluorescent Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Protein Detection

by Adi Hendler-Neumark and Gili Bisker

Sensors 2019, 19(24), 5403; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19245403 - 7 Dec 2019

Cited by 66 | Viewed by 8480

Abstract

Nanosensors have a central role in recent approaches to molecular recognition in applications like imaging, drug delivery systems, and phototherapy. Fluorescent nanoparticles are particularly attractive for such tasks owing to their emission signal that can serve as optical reporter for location or environmental properties. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) fluoresce in the near-infrared part of the spectrum, where biological samples are relatively transparent, and they do not photobleach or blink. These unique optical properties and their biocompatibility make SWCNTs attractive for a variety of biomedical applications. Here, we review recent advancements in protein recognition using SWCNTs functionalized with either natural recognition moieties or synthetic heteropolymers. We emphasize the benefits of the versatile applicability of the SWCNT sensors in different systems ranging from single-molecule level to in-vivo sensing in whole animal models. Finally, we discuss challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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11 pages, 3595 KiB

Open AccessConcept Paper

A Diagnostic Device for In-Situ Detection of Swine Viral Diseases: The SWINOSTICS Project

by Concetta Montagnese, Paolo Barattini, Alessandro Giusti, Gyula Balka, Ugo Bruno, Ioannis Bossis, Athanasios Gelasakis, Matteo Bonasso, Panayiotis Philmis, Lilla Dénes, Sergio Peransi, Manuel Rodrigo, Santiago Simón, Amadeu Griol, Grzegorz Wozniakowski, Katarzyna Podgorska, Carolina Pugliese, Lapo Nannucci, Sabato D’Auria and Antonio Varriale

Sensors 2019, 19(2), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19020407 - 20 Jan 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5642

Abstract

In this paper, we present the concept of a novel diagnostic device for on-site analyses, based on the use of advanced bio-sensing and photonics technologies to tackle emerging and endemic viruses causing swine epidemics and significant economic damage in farms. The device is currently under development in the framework of the EU Commission co-funded project. The overall concept behind the project is to develop a method for an early and fast on field detection of selected swine viruses by non-specialized personnel. The technology is able to detect pathogens in different types of biological samples, such as oral fluids, faeces, blood or nasal swabs. The device will allow for an immediate on-site threat assessment. In this work, we present the overall concept of the device, its architecture with the technical requirements, and all the used innovative technologies that contribute to the advancements of the current state of the art. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Bio Sensing)

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