Sensor, defined biochemical

Biochemistry 8. Gilles-Gonzalez, M. A., and Gonzalez, G. (2005) Heme-based sensors defining characteristics, recent developments, and regulatory hypotheses, J. Inorg. Biochem. 99, 1-22. 

Development of microfluidics-based systems wifii small sample volumes and reduction of extensive sample cleanup requirements prior to analysis Need for well defined biochemical markers of quality for a variety of foods Low cost sensor-based analytical systems with automatic monitoring and reporting, e.g., via wireless-based systems Regulatory Agency approval for use of sensor technologies... 

Optical sensors (Figure 1) can be defined as devices for optical monitoring of physical parameters (pressure1, temperature2, etc.) or (bio)chemical properties of a medium by means of optical elements (planar optical waveguides or optical fibres). Chemical or biochemical fibre-optic sensors3 are small devices capable of continuously and reversibly recording the concentration of a (bio)chemical species constructed be means of optical fibres. 

The flow-through sensors described in this Section comply essentially with the definition of biosensor. This word, like every term used to designate devices of scientific and popular note, has been the object of a number of definitions of both generic and specific scope. In a broad sense, a biosensor is any instrument or technique that measures biomolecules. In stricter terms, Rechnitz defines a biosensor as "a device that incorporates a biochemical or biological component as a molecular recognition element and yields an analytical signal in response to biomolecules" [10]. In between these two... 

Optical biosensors can be defined as sensor devices which make use of optical principles for the transduction of a biochemical interaction into a suitable output signal. The biomolecular interaction on the sensor surface modulates the light characteristics of the transducer (i.e., intensity, phase, polarization, etc.), and the biosensing event can be detected by the change in diverse optical properties such as absorption, fiuorescence, luminescence or refractive index, among others. 

It should be noted that GC mode experiments with amperometric tips may contain a feedback component to the current if the electrochemical process at the tip is reversible and the tip-to-specimen distance is less than about 5a. However, at greater distances or when employing a potentiometric tip, the tip acts approximately as a passive sensor, i.e., one that does not perturb the local concentration. This situation is quite distinct from feedback mode, where the product of the electrolysis at the tip is an essential reactant in the process at the specimen surface. This interdependence of tip and specimen reactions in feedback mode ensures that the biochemical process is confined to an area under the tip defined by the tip radius and diffusional spreading of the various reagents (20). In contrast, the biochemical process in GC mode is independent of the presence of the tip and may therefore occur simultaneously across the whole surface. In addition, the tip signal often does not directly provide information on the height of the tip above the surface methods to overcome this limitation are described in Sec. I.D. Finally, since the tip process and the biochemical reaction at the specimen are independent, a wide range of microsensors may be employed as the tip, e.g., ion-selective microelectrodes, which are not applicable in feedback experiments. 

Biosensors can be defined as chemical sensor systems in which an analyte is detected based on biochemical processes or biochemical utilization. A biosensor is mostly composed of a biological element responsible for sampling and tracing, and a physical element called a transducer responsible for sample transmission and further processing (see also Part V, Chapters 8 and 9). The term biosensor does not really meet the lUPAC definition, in which sensors are defined to be self-containing, perform continuous monitoring and are reversible. For the purpose of this chapter, the term biosensor will not be so strictly used as in the traditional context. 

The distinction between chemical sensors and biosensors is more complex. Many authors attempt to define a sensor based on the nature of the analyte detected. This approach can be misleading since nearly all analytes measured by a chemical or biosensor are chemicals or Wochemicals, the exception being sensors which detect whole cells. Other authors attempt to define a chemical of biosensor by the nature of the reaction which leads to the detection event. Again, this is confusing since all reactions at chemical and biosensor surfaces are chemical (or biochemical) reactions. 

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