Nanoengineered Electrochemical Biosensors: Development & Healthcare applications

Timely and quantitative detection of disease-specific biomarkers with high accuracy and sensitivity is essential for effective screening, early diagnosis, monitoring, and disease surveillance. Biomarkers are biological compounds present in blood and other body fluids serve as vital indicators of physiological and pathological states. Conventional techniques for biomarker quantification, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), immunohistochemistry (IHC), radioimmunoassay (RIA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and western blotting, although widely used, are often limited by complex protocols, high costs, large sample requirements, and the need for specialized personnel and equipment. Electrochemical biosensors have emerged as a promising alternative, offering rapid analysis, high sensitivity, minimal sample volume requirements, and the potential for miniaturization. Their low cost, disposability, and user-friendly design make them particularly suitable for point-of-care diagnostics. This seminar will begin with a concise overview of electrochemical sensing technologies, highlighting their design principles and fabrication strategies. It will then present a range of innovative sensing platforms developed for detecting diverse biomarkers in biological fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine, with applications in diagnosing critical conditions including cancer, sepsis, and acute kidney transplant rejection.