skip to content
Dovepress - Open Access to Scientific and Medical Research
View our mobile site

8852

Nanoparticles as biochemical sensors

Other

(4675) Views  (1704) Full article downloads

Authors: Afaf El-Ansary, Layla M Faddah

Published Date September 2010 Volume 2010:3 Pages 65 - 76
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/NSA.S8199

Afaf El-Ansary, Layla M Faddah
Biochemistry Department, Science College, and Pharmacology Department, Pharmacy College, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: There is little doubt that nanoparticles offer real and new opportunities in many fields, such as biomedicine and materials science. Such particles are small enough to enter almost all areas of the body, including cells and organelles, potentially leading to new approaches in nanomedicine. Sensors for small molecules of biochemical interest are of critical importance. This review is an attempt to trace the use of nanomaterials in biochemical sensor design. The possibility of using nanoparticles functionalized with antibodies as markers for proteins will be elucidated. Moreover, capabilities and applications for nanoparticles based on gold, silver, magnetic, and semiconductor materials (quantum dots), used in optical (absorbance, luminescence, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance), electrochemical, and mass-sensitive sensors will be highlighted. The unique ability of nanosensors to improve the analysis of biochemical fluids is discussed either through considering the use of nanoparticles for in vitro molecular diagnosis, or in the biological/biochemical analysis for in vivo interaction with the human body.

Keywords: nanoparticles, quantum dots, nanomedicine, biochemical sensors, antibodies, in vivo, in vivo




 

Other articles by Professor Afaf El-Ansary



Readers of this article also read:

Applications of gold nanoparticles in cancer nanotechnology
Gold nanoparticles: From nanomedicine to nanosensing
Food nanotechnology – an overview
Functionalized gold nanoparticles for the binding, stabilization, and delivery of therapeutic DNA, RNA, and other biological macromolecules
Turbidimetric method for evaluation of photocatalytic activities of suspended fine particles
Emerging use of nanostructure films containing capped gold nanoparticles in biosensors
Biosensors: the new wave in cancer diagnosis
Significance of novel bioinorganic anodic aluminum oxide nanoscaffolds for promoting cellular response
The current state of engineered nanomaterials in consumer goods and waste streams: the need to develop nanoproperty-quantifiable sensors for monitoring engineered nanomaterials
Biocompatible medical implant materials with binding sites for a biodegradable drug-delivery system
  • Testimonials

    "... I was impressed at the rapidity of publication from submission to final acceptance." Dr Edwin Thrower, PhD, Yale University