Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, USA.
ACS Nano. 2009 Oct 27;3(10):2876-80. doi: 10.1021/nn901295n.
Chemical and biological sensors are necessary for making continuous measurements in a variety of settings. A typical sensor comprises a molecular recognition element coupled to a transducer. Binding of the analyte to the recognition element leads to signal transduction. Many sensors employ an extrinsic label to indirectly signal the presence of the analyte. Label-free methods have the advantage that no exogenous reagents are required, making the sensor simple to implement. New label-free transduction methods should facilitate the wider application of sensors. Challenges remain with reproducibility, calibration, and manufacturability. Solving these problems will require an interdisciplinary collaboration between chemists, biologists, biochemists, and engineers. An article by Sailor and co-workers in this issue takes a significant step toward this goal. The availability of inexpensive sensors for wide-scale deployment will transform society in terms of health care as well as home and workplace monitoring.
化学和生物传感器对于在各种环境中进行连续测量是必要的。一个典型的传感器包括一个与换能器相连的分子识别元件。分析物与识别元件的结合导致信号转导。许多传感器采用外源性标记物来间接指示分析物的存在。无标记方法的优点是不需要外源试剂，使得传感器易于实现。新的无标记转导方法应该会促进传感器的更广泛应用。在可重复性、校准和可制造性方面仍然存在挑战。解决这些问题需要化学家、生物学家、生物化学家和工程师之间的跨学科合作。Sailor 及其同事在本期杂志上发表的一篇文章朝着这一目标迈出了重要的一步。廉价传感器的广泛应用将在医疗保健以及家庭和工作场所监测方面改变社会。
