Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
As noted throughout the different chapters in the topic, the biosensor development is in an
unlimited growth phase, which does not seem likely to slow down in the near future.
Chapters or publications such as this can easily be written for the detection of other ana-
lyte(s) using different biosensors. Perhaps, some start-up or well-established companies are
already considering this aspect before they develop a biosensor and bring it to the market.
Of course, the economics of development will and does play a critical part in the selection
of the biosensor a particular company wants to bring to the market. It is possible that a
particular company with already developed expertise on a particular (biosensor) platform
may use it with modifications to detect a particular analyte. The company may also like to
explore a novel or a new biosensor platform for the detection of an analyte it has already
identified. This chapter will hopefully bring this type of thinking and reasoning to the
forefront, before it is too late.
The economics of biosensor development is an extremely important area of investigation, and
forms the basis of the last chapter in this topic. As might be expected, industrial sources are
very well aware of this. This economic aspect is generally paid scant attention to, or at worst
completely neglected by my university colleagues. Hopefully, emphasis on economics and
alternative and appropriate biosensor platforms for the detection of glucose and other
analytes of interest will gradually begin to change the frame of mind of researchers in the
university as well as perhaps consolidate this type of thinking in industrial researchers too.
Nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology do seem to exhibit a lot of potential in the develop-
ment of biosensors as well as other areas. It is hoped that this will translate into better
biosensors that exhibit better performance characteristics, and ultimately result in the devel-
opment of more economical biosensors.
It would have been excellent if economic data had been available and presented for the differ-
ent examples of biosensors used for the detection of glucose. However, at present, such data is
unavailable (perhaps it may never be) especially in the universities where most, if not all, of
this research is selected from. Perhaps, this type of data on the development of different biosen-
sor platforms for the detection of glucose or other analytes is available in industrial sources.
But, as one might very reasonably expect, this type of economic information, if it exists, is
well-guarded and will not be available from industrial sources. Perhaps, more university
sources need to analyze this area which has scant information available in the open literature.
References
Bai Y, Y Sun, and C Sun, Pt-Pb nanowire array electrode for enzyme-free glucose detection,
Biosensors and
Bioelectronics
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(4), 579-585 (2008).
Caduff AF, F Dewarrat, M Talary, G Stadler, L Heinemann, and Yu Feldman, Non-invasive glucose monitoring
in patients with diabetes: A novel system based on impedance spectroscopy,
Biosensors & Bioelectronics
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24
(9), 2778-2784 (2006).
