Dyes as Labels in Biosensing

Abstract

Investigation and evaluation of dyes play a vital role in the process of introduction novel labels and their corresponding sensing methods, which signify opportunities for the development of biosensors. This chapter introduces applications of various dyes as labels in biosensing. Bio-recognition molecules with dyes transduce biological information into measurable optical, electrochemical, magnetic or other kinds of signals for quantification. The dyes used in this field were summarized and reviewed according to their signal types, namely colorimetric, fluorescent and electrochemical. Some dyes can transduce signals between multiple physical signals. For some most important dyes, detailed descriptions were given focused on their unique properties, labeling methods and sensing mechanisms.