Theory, fabrication and applications of microfluidic and nanofluidic biosensors

Abstract

Biosensors are a broad array of devices that detect the type and amount of a biological species or biomolecule. Several different types of biosensors have been developed that rely on changes to mechanical, chemical or electrical properties of the transduction or sensing element to induce a measurable signal. Often, a biosensor will integrate several functions or unit operations such as sample extraction, manipulation and detection on a single platform. This review begins with an overview of the current state-of-the-art biosensor field. Next, the review delves into a special class of biosensors that rely on microfluidics and nanofluidics by presenting the underlying theory, fabrication and several examples and applications of microfluidic and nanofluidic sensors.

Fabrication of Centimeter Long, Ultra-Low Aspect Ratio Nanochannel Networks in Borosilicate Glass Substrates

“…This leads to dominance of surface-fiuid interactions where transport is governed by surface charge and surface energy [1^]. The surface-fluid interactions enable a broad range of applications including water desalination [5,6], molecular gating [7,8], energy transfer [9, 10], and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) elongation [11,12] and sieving [13] among other applications [14].…”

Fluidic behaviours in a 2D folded-graphene aerogel monolith

“…Nanofluidics in nanopores, nanochannels, nanoribbons, and nanolayers [1][2][3][4][5] were investigated extensively in recent years, due to their unique molecular motions [6] and enhanced conduction rates [7,8]. The discovered superior nanoconduction dramatically improved the fluid transport efficiency and reduced the driving energy, which has greatly promoted the applicability of these nanofluidic systems in a wide variety of areas, such as biosensors, microchips, nanoactuators, nanofiltration, and nanoscale energy management [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Quantum dot-based microfluidic biosensor for cancer detection

“…Prior to application of the QCdSe based chip for the biosensing, its electrochemical behaviour is experimentally characterized through EIS using 5 mM K 3 properties in response to a small AC signal as a function of frequency. 19,20 Microfluidic devices use low sample volumes and provide fast reaction rates due to the smaller diffusion distances, and a diffusion restriction model can be applied.…”

“…2,3 The miniaturization of numerous bioassays via lab-on-achip (LOC) format can be used to investigate polymerase chain reaction, DNA and cellular analysis, DNA sequencing, immunoassays, and electrophoresis. 4,5 The development of electrochemical biosensors for clinical diagnostics has recently aroused much interest due to their high sensitivity, capability of precise target recognition, and efficient signal transduction.…”