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PRINCIPLES OF AFFINITY-BASED BIOSENSORS
Citation:
Rogers, K R. PRINCIPLES OF AFFINITY-BASED BIOSENSORS. MOLECULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY 14(2):109-129, (2000).
Impact/Purpose:
The overall objective of this task is to develop scientifically sound sampling and bioanalytical approaches for screening and monitoring of hazardous wastes. These techniques are expected to provide the Agency with improved screening and field portable methods to characterize, reduce, and control risk to human health and the environment. Specific objectives will include development and characterization of the following concepts:
SPMDs for passive accumulation of TICs
Bioassays for toxic and genotoxic compounds
MIPs for volatile and semivolatile toxic organics
Rapid screening assays using the previously listed components.
Description:
Despite the amount of resources that have been invested by national and international academic, government, and commercial sectors to develop affinity-based biosensor products, little obvious success has been realized through commercialization of these devices for specific applications (such as the enzyme biosensors for blood glucose analysis). Nevertheless, the fastest growing area in the biosensors research literature continues to involve advances in affinity-based biosensors and biosensors and biosensor-related methods. Numerous biosensor techniques have been reported that allow researchers to better study the kinetics, structure, and (solid/liquid) interface phenomena associated with protein-ligand binding interactions. In addition, potential application areas for which affinity-based biosensor techniques show promise include clinical/diagonstics, food processing, military/antiterrorism, and environmental monitoring. The design and structural features of these devices-composed of a biological affinity element interfaced to a signal transducer-primarily determine their operational characteristics. This paper, although not intended as comprehensive review, will outline the principles of affinity biosensors with respect to potential application areas.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Office of Research and Development (ORD) has, in part, funded the work involved in preparing this article. It has been subject to the Agency's peer review and has been approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by EPA. The U.S. Government has the right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright covering this article.