مرکز تحقیقات بیوسنسور اصفهان

مرکز تحقیقات بیوسنسور اصفهان /Markaz Tahghighat Biosensor Esfahan

آدرس : اصفهان، خیابان هزار جریب ،دانشگاه علوم پزشکی و خدمات درمانی استان اصفهان، دانشکده پزشکی، مرکز تحقیقات بیوسنسور

تلفن: ۷۹۲۲۴۸۰ (۰۳۱۱)

دورنگار: ۶۶۸۸۵۹۷ (۰۳۱۱)

صندوق پستی: ۳۱۹-۸۱۷۴۵

ایمیل :  brc@mui.ac.ir

سایت مرکز تحقیقات بیوسنسور اصفهان : brc.mui.ac.ir

About Biosensor

A biosensor is a device that uses a combination of two steps: a recognition step and a transducer step. The recognition step involves a biological sensing element, or receptor, on the surface that can recognize biological or chemical analytes in solution or in the atmosphere. The receptor may be an antibody, enzyme, or a cell. This receptor is in close contact with a transducing element that converts the analyte-receptor reaction into a quantitative electrical or optical signal. The signal may be transduced by optical, thermal, electrical, or electronic elements. A transducer should be highly specific for the analyte of interest. Also, it should be able to respond in the appropriate concentration range and have a moderately fast response time (1-60 sec). The transducer also should be reliable, able to be miniaturized, and suitably designed for practical application. Figure 1.1 shows the principle of operation of a typical biosensor.
As early as 1985, most of the major developments in biosensor technology will come from advances in the health care field. Efficient patient care is based on frequent measurement of many analytes, such as blood cations, gases, and metabolites. Emphasizing that, for inpatient and outpatient care, key metabolites need to be monitored on tissue fluids such as blood, sweat, saliva, and urine, Lowe indicated that implantable biosensors could, for example, provide real-time data to direct drug release by
Over the past 20 years, the field of biosensor research have had a significant impact in both laboratory research and the commercial sector. Over that period, biosensors have revolutionized the care and management of diabetes and have had important impacts in several other areas of clinical diagnostics. Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific have all seen the rise of small- and mediumsized companies seeking technical and application niches in the manufacture or use of biosensors. The current activity in both gene and protein “biochips” can be seen as the latest set of tools that allow users who are not analytical science practitioners to make technically complex and reliable measurements with the minimum of intervention. Similarly, the concern about the dissemination of chemical or biological weapons and the need for their rapid and reliable detection will need to be met by devices that have many characteristics in common with biosensors. The application focus of biosensors has also broadened with time and whilst clinical diagnostics probably remains the single biggest area, roles are also being found in environmental (including food) monitoring, personal security (including warfare), drug discovery, and basic biological research.

Technology Drivers

A number of factors have been driving interest and investment in biosensor research and product development. The primary driver has been the public’s demand for healthcare aides, in particular ones to assist diabetics to cope with their disease. NIH conducted a major study during the period 1983–۱۹۹۳, called the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, where approximately 1,500 individuals with Type 1 diabetes maintained close control of their blood sugar levels by self-testing about five times per day and administering insulin as needed to bring their blood sugar levels within the normal range. Those individuals who were able to maintain this regime of testing and control exhibited a remarkable reduction in the complications normally found in diabetics: risk of eye disease was reduced 76%, risk of kidney disease was reduced 50%, and risk of nerve disease was reduced 60%. Because of this fantastic outcome, development of more convenient blood glucose testing methods has become a major goal of the research and commercial communities. The current worldwide market for blood glucose testing equipment and test strips is estimated to be on the order of a billion dollars per year, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on new sensing technologies for this purpose . This extended interest and investment in methods for blood glucose sensing has led to many new technologies, and researchers have been able to tap into this wealth of knowledge to apply sensing technologies for measuring biochemicals to other types of disease prevention and “wellness” maintenance. An example of this trend is the recent appearance of test devices for cholesterol self-testing for the general public. Corporations have recognized the desire of individuals to be able to monitor health indicators outside of the physician’s office and have instituted research programs to fill this need. For example, Intel Corporation has a research group devoted to home healthcare that develops products for wellness, nutrition fitness, and mental health, as well as disease management. As will be described later in this report, health maintenance is an important issue for the Japanese.
Another driver for the development of biosensing systems is the need for new and expanded technologies for monitoring and controlling the environment. In addition to a long-standing concern to identify toxic materials in the environment, in recent years, recognition of the fragility of the environment and growth of the “green” movement worldwide have expanded so rapidly that robust and diverse environmental sensing technologies have become essential to achieving social goals. In addition to the need for selectivity and sensitivity in environmental sensors, two other requirements are for robustness to allow the systems to be fielded in remote locations and for methods for relaying information to monitoring centers (see, for example, the website of the Center for Embedded Network Systems at UCLA, cens.ucla.edu/).

مرکز تحقیقات بیوسنسور اصفهان