Cornell B A, Braach-Maksvytis V L, King L G, Osman P D, Raguse B, Wieczorek L, Pace R J
Co-operative Research Centre for Molecular Engineering & Technology, Chatswood NSW, Australia.
Nature. 1997 Jun 5;387(6633):580-3. doi: 10.1038/42432.
Biosensors are molecular sensors that combine a biological recognition mechanism with a physical transduction technique. They provide a new class of inexpensive, portable instrument that permit sophisticated analytical measurements to be undertaken rapidly at decentralized locations. However, the adoption of biosensors for practical applications other than the measurement of blood glucose is currently limited by the expense, insensitivity and inflexibility of the available transduction methods. Here we describe the development of a biosensing technique in which the conductance of a population of molecular ion channels is switched by the recognition event. The approach mimics biological sensory functions and can be used with most types of receptor, including antibodies and nucleotides. The technique is very flexible and even in its simplest form it is sensitive to picomolar concentrations of proteins. The sensor is essentially an impedance element whose dimensions can readily be reduced to become an integral component of a microelectronic circuit. It may be used in a wide range of applications and in complex media, including blood. These uses might include cell typing, the detection of large proteins, viruses, antibodies, DNA, electrolytes, drugs, pesticides and other low-molecular-weight compounds.
生物传感器是将生物识别机制与物理转导技术相结合的分子传感器。它们提供了一类新型的廉价、便携式仪器，能够在分散的地点快速进行复杂的分析测量。然而，除了血糖测量之外，生物传感器在实际应用中的采用目前受到现有转导方法的成本、不敏感性和不灵活性的限制。在此，我们描述了一种生物传感技术的开发，其中分子离子通道群体的电导率通过识别事件进行切换。该方法模仿生物传感功能，可与大多数类型的受体一起使用，包括抗体和核苷酸。该技术非常灵活，即使在其最简单的形式下，对皮摩尔浓度的蛋白质也很敏感。该传感器本质上是一个阻抗元件，其尺寸可以很容易地减小，成为微电子电路的一个组成部分。它可用于广泛的应用和复杂介质中，包括血液。这些用途可能包括细胞分型、检测大蛋白质、病毒、抗体、DNA、电解质、药物、农药和其他低分子量化合物。
