Biosensor Technology: Advantages and Applications

By Samudrapom DamReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Updated on Dec 18 2024

Biosensors—devices that combine biological and electronic components—play a vital role in detecting and measuring biological substances. Whether they’re used for diagnosing diseases, monitoring environmental conditions, or ensuring food safety, biosensors provide valuable insights quickly and accurately.

Image Credit: Black Salmon/Shutterstock.com

These devices rely on biorecognition elements and transducers to turn biological interactions into measurable signals. From wearable health monitors to tools used in industrial processes, biosensors are practical, reliable, and increasingly important in everyday applications.

In this article, we’ll briefly explain the basics of biosensors, including how they work and the different types available, as well as discuss some of their real-world uses. We’ll also answer key questions like:

• How do biosensors work?
• What are the different types of biosensors?
• What are the advantages of biosensors?
• How are biosensors improving healthcare and other fields?
• What will the future of biosensor research focus on?

Let’s get started.

How Do Biosensors Work?

Biosensors work by converting biological interactions into measurable signals. They are made up of three key components: a biorecognition element, a transducer, and an electronic system.

The biorecognition element interacts with a specific analyte, such as glucose or ammonia. This interaction triggers a response that is detected by the transducer. The transducer then converts this response into a measurable signal, such as an electrical or optical output.

The electronic system amplifies and processes the signal, displaying the results in a user-friendly format, such as a graph or numerical value. This makes it easy to interpret the data quickly and accurately.²

If you're interested in a deeper dive into the working principles of biosensors and their components, check out our detailed overview article.

Types of Biosensors

Depending on the mechanism of transduction, biosensors are classified as follows:

• Resonant Biosensors: These sensors employ an acoustic wave transducer combined with a bioreceptor. Interaction between the analyte and bioreceptor forces a change in the bioreceptor's mass. As a result, the acoustic transducer's resonant frequency also changes, which is then evaluated, and this value can then be interpreted by the end-user.
• Optical Detection Biosensors: These types of sensors include a silicon wafer to which protein molecules are attached through covalent bonds. The wafer is subjected to UV light, which makes the antibodies inactive. The wafer is then diced and placed in the analyte, which encourages the formation of diffusion grating that generates a signal that can be measured and amplified.
• Thermal Detection Biosensors: In these sensors, the immobilized enzymes are coupled with temperature detectors. When the analyte interacts with the enzyme, a heat reaction is initiated. Thus, the concentration of the analyte can be evaluated with respect to the measurement of a heat reaction.
• Electrochemical Biosensors: The principle behind the operation of these sensors involves the generation of ions by various chemical events that change the electrical properties of the analyte solution. The concentration of the analyte is then measured with respect to this change.
• Ion-sensitive Biosensors: These sensors work on the principle that the interaction of ions with a semiconductor changes the electric potential of the semiconductor surface. The potential changes can then be measured to evaluate the desired parameter.
• Electronic Biosensors: An electronic biosensor’s working principle depends on field-effect transistors (FETs). FET-based transducers could directly translate the interactions between the FET surface and the analyte. Although FET-based biosensors offer advantages like high spatial resolution and high sensitivity, they have several limitations when employed for in vitro applications.²
• Gravimetric Biosensors: These biosensors are mass-based biosensors that respond to a small change in the binding material mass, generating a measurable signal. Gravimetric biosensors are utilized with thin piezoelectric quartz crystals that vibrate at a particular frequency based on the detected material mass and applied current.²

Advantages of Biosensors

Biosensors offer a range of practical benefits, making them valuable tools across industry for countless reasons.

1. Quick and Continuous Measurements: Biosensors are designed to deliver fast and accurate results, often in real-time, enabling timely decision-making in critical situations such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety assessments.²

2. High Specificity and Rapid Response​​​​​​: Biosensors demonstrate high specificity and fast response times. For instance, some cutting-edge biosensors can detect influenza virus within just five minutes of incubation.²

3. Minimal Reagent Usage: Biosensors are cost-effective and environmentally friendly due to their reduced consumption of organic solvents and sample manipulation.²

4. Ability to Measure Non-Polar Molecules: While conventional devices cannot estimate non-polar molecules, the unique sensing mechanisms of biosensors allow them to detect these molecules. For instance, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors can detect non-polar molecules like lipids.²

5. Cost-Effectiveness​​​​​​: Biosensors often provide a cheaper and faster alternative to traditional analytical methods like chromatography. This makes them more accessible for a wider range of applications and users.²

6. Linearity and Real-Time Monitoring: Many biosensors enable real-time monitoring of analytes with high linearity, which is crucial for applications such as disease monitoring, drug discovery, and detection of pollutants. This feature allows for continuous data collection and immediate response to changes.²

7. Portability and Ease of Use: Many biosensors are designed to be compact, portable, and user-friendly. This design eliminates the need for skilled personnel, making biosensors accessible for on-site testing and field applications.

8. Potential for Continuous Health Monitoring: Some biosensors can be integrated into wearable or implantable devices for long-term monitoring of vital signs and personalized health solutions. This capability opens up new possibilities for preventive healthcare and personalized medicine.

Applications of Biosensors

The above advantages make biosensors crucial devices across an array of fields, some of which are outlines below:

Healthcare and Medical Diagnostics

• Monitoring blood glucose levels: Biosensors provide real-time, accurate measurements of blood glucose levels. They use biological recognition elements like enzymes to detect glucose and convert it into an electrical signal. This allows for continuous monitoring, helping individuals with diabetes manage their condition effectively. Advanced glucose biosensors, such as those based on electrochemical or optical technologies, offer high sensitivity, quick response times, and ease of use.^1,2
• Disease screening and diagnosis: Biosensors are emerging as important tools in healthcare, particularly for cardiac diseases and cancer. They offer rapid, user-friendly, and affordable detection, enabling early diagnosis and improved patient outcomes.
• Clinical analysis: Biosensors are also used in cardiovascular disease research to measure cholesterol levels, employing cholesterol oxidase and cholesterol esterase. Electrochemical transducers play a crucial role in ensuring accurate cholesterol detection. Additionally, researchers are exploring the potential of biosensors in various other diseases, including parasitic infections, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease.¹

Food Industry

• Food and beverage analysis: In the food industry, biosensors play an important role in monitoring both the nutritional content and safety of food products. They are used to measure key nutrients such as ethanol in alcoholic beverages, protein in dairy products and milk, and tea polyphenols in black tea. Additionally, biosensors help detect harmful substances like bacteria in fresh meat, ensuring that food remains safe and of high quality. For example, electrochemical biosensors are often used to quickly and accurately measure urea levels in milk, offering a reliable method to assess this critical parameter.⁶

Environmental Monitoring

• Pollution control: By utilizing biological recognition elements, devices like optical biosensors identify contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and toxins at low concentrations, allowing for the rapid and accurate detection of pollutants in air, water, and soil. Their real-time monitoring capabilities enable timely interventions, helping to reduce pollution and safeguard ecosystems.²
• Wastewater treatment: Biosensors play a crucial role in monitoring and managing wastewater treatment processes. They can detect various pollutants, measure water quality parameters, and assess the effectiveness of treatment methods in real-time. These devices offer significant cost and efficiency advantages compared to conventional approaches, allowing for more precise control and optimization of treatment processes. For example, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) biosensor is employed to measure the wastewater oxygen demand, which indicates the amount of biodegradable organic material present.⁶

Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research

• Protein engineering and drug delivery applications: Biosensors like enzyme-based biosensors enable precise monitoring of protein interactions and the real-time assessment of therapeutic drug release. They detect specific biomarkers to facilitate the development of customized drugs and optimize protein-based therapies. Moreover, biosensors are used to track the efficacy and safety of drug delivery systems, ensuring controlled release and reducing side effects.^1,2

Sports and Fitness

• Athlete monitoring: Biosensors are being developed for athletes to monitor glucose levels during physical activities, providing critical insights into performance and energy management. These advanced monitoring devices can track real-time metabolic changes, helping athletes optimize nutrition, understand energy expenditure, and prevent fatigue-related performance declines. 

Recent Developments in Biosensor Technology

Biosensor technology continues to advance as researchers and companies focus on improving sensitivity, accuracy, and versatility. One notable development involves the detection of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a multifunctional cytokine that plays a key role in the inflammatory response. Elevated IL-6 levels, even as low as 200 fM, can signal disease, making precise and rapid detection essential.

A study published in Carbon introduced an innovative electronic biosensor built with a gold-functionalized wrinkle graphene FET. By transferring graphene grown through chemical vapor deposition onto a thermally annealed gold nanoparticle substrate, researchers induced structural deformations that enhanced the sensor's performance. The biosensor achieved a detection limit of 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁵ M (33.6 fg/mL), significantly surpassing the 4.7 × 10⁻¹⁴ M detection limit of a standard graphene FET sensor. This advancement highlights the potential of biosensors for accurate, rapid, and label-free IL-6 monitoring, as well as the detection of other disease-related biomolecules.⁷

Key Suppliers in the Biosensor Market

Major companies in the biosensors market include:

• Abbott
• Medtronic
• DuPont
• Universal Biosensors
• LifeScan IP Holdings

These organizations are advancing the industry through strategic collaborations, product innovation, and scaling up biosensor production to meet growing demand across various sectors.

Recent highlights include:

• Universal Biosensors, Inc. recently launched Xprecia Prime, a next-generation blood coagulation analyzer now available in the United Kingdom and the European Union. This device offers precise and reliable results, streamlining diagnostic workflows in clinical settings.
• Rockley Photonics Holdings Limited partnered with Medtronic to integrate Rockley’s Bioptx biomarker sensing platform into wearable devices. These devices are designed to simultaneously monitor multiple biomarkers, such as body temperature, blood pressure, and glucose trends, enabling comprehensive health tracking and personalized care.

Interested in Learning More About Biosensors?

Biosensors are an exciting and rapidly evolving technology with applications spanning healthcare, environmental monitoring, food safety, and beyond. Whether you’re curious about how they work, their diverse applications, or the latest advancements in the field, there’s always more to explore.

If you’d like to dive deeper into topics such as:

• The role of biosensors in antibiotic monitoring
• Real-world examples of biosensors in industrial application
• Next generation biosensors

Check out our more of our articles that break down these topics. Biosensors are shaping the future of science and technology—stay informed and discover how they’re making an impact across industries.

Advanced Materials for Sensing Applications: An Overview

References and Further Reading

1. Alemdar, S., Bayramgil, N. P., Karakuş, S. (2023). Applications of cutting-edge biosensors in healthcare and biomedical research. IntechOpen. DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.112693, https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/87990
2. Naresh, V., Lee, N. (2020). A Review on Biosensors and Recent Development of Nanostructured Materials-Enabled Biosensors. Sensors, 21(4), 1109. DOI: 10.3390/s21041109, https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/4/1109
3. Mohanty, S., Kougianos, E. (2006). Biosensors: A Tutorial Review. IEEE Potentials, 25(2), 35-40. DOI: 10.1109/MP.2006.1649009, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1649009
4. Mandal, A.(2023) Biosensor Applications [Online] Available at https://www.news-medical.net/health/Biosensor-Applications.aspx
5. The future of Biosensors - Professor Brian Birch, LIRANS University of Luton UK.
6. Wu, J., Wu, Q. (2021). The review of biosensor and its application in the diagnosis of COVID-19. E3S Web of Conferences, 290, 03028. DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202129003028, https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/abs/2021/66/e3sconf_icgec2021_03028/e3sconf_icgec2021_03028.html
7. Dou, C. et al. (2024). Au-functionalized wrinkle graphene biosensor for ultrasensitive detection of Interleukin-6. Carbon, 216, 118556. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2023.118556, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0008622323008011

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