A sense of biology [biosensors]

Abstract

Interest in biosensors has been slowly building and much progress has been made with the underlying science. It is a technology that has drawn on a bewildering array of fields and effects. Biosensors harness the exquisite selectivity and sensitivity of biological molecules such as antibodies and enzymes. The resultant sensors can be accurate, fast, inexpensive, portable and easy to manufacture. A 'bio-recognition' molecule is chosen that has a particular affinity for the molecules of the target substance. For example, an antibody is one such bio-recognition molecule. It is a protein that has an extraordinary affinity for another type of protein, or 'antigen': it binds to it with exceptional specificity.