ABSTRACT
Modern biosensors are now integrated devices that closely connect the biomolecular recognition element with a physical transducer to create an electrical or optical signal that is proportional to the concentration of a specific chemical or biological agent being measured. The book concludes with a chapter that takes a look into the future and speculates how biosensor technology will evolve over the next several decades. It is hoped that this more speculative discussion will spur discussion and provide young researchers with insight on a rapidly changing technology in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. The future will require innovative technologies to improve biosensor sensitivity and selectivity, utilize nanostructured organic biological matrices, exploit the development of nanosensors and multiarrays, and investigate the viability of biomimetic sensors and optical nucleic acid sensors. It will also be necessary for future researchers to explore physiological biosensors and even exploit molecular computing (i.e. DNA-based logic components and circuitry).
