Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
These authors also point out that microelectronics, smart sensors, and MEMS (microelectro-
mechanical systems) have apparently solved most sensitivity drawbacks. However, there
are drawbacks in the sense that biosensor commercialization has continued to lag behind
research by several years. Besides, biosensors have to compete with existing technologies.
These authors estimate that it takes about five years to get a medial biosensor to the market,
and at a cost of more than $40 million. Thus, often, these authors are of the opinion that
unless well capitalized, sensor developers may go out of business before attaining
commercialization.
Morrow (2008)
in a recent article discussing innovations that have recently been made in bio-
sensor development points out that advances in biosensor development have recently
impacted pharmacology and molecular biology significantly. The author emphasizes that
label-free biosensors exhibit significant potential in the analysis of critical disease-related
molecules. Furthermore, the kinetic information provided by biosensors facilitate the design
of new pharmaceutical agents. The author emphasizes that the biosensor industry is driven
largely by large-scale drug discovery programs that are carried out by big pharmaceuticals.
Morrow (2008)
further reports that biosensors may be effectively used in a clinical setting;
however, there are challenges with regard to accepting label-free technology. This is owing
to the poor selectivity in the presence of crude samples, and a lack of workable instrumenta-
tion for hand-held, point-of-care (POC) applications. Furthermore, high-levels of nonspecific
binding severely constrains the applications of label-free biosensors at least for clinical diag-
nostic tests, wherein tissue, serum, and feces may be involved. It is hoped that the gap
between academic research and commercial application of biosensors will reduce, rather than
widen, in the future with effective research and application, as well as appropriate feedback.
Research and Insights (2009)
points out, not surprisingly, that most of the biosensor research
is being done in the universities. Private companies, however, do commercialize these
biosensors. There is a need to minimize the cost of these biosensors, as they are, generally,
expensive devices, and there is an ongoing effort to make them more economical. This report
points out that customized biosensors have the potential to open up markets for themselves in
high value-added products. For example, a biosensor can rapidly and accurately, continu-
ously measure in real time the absence or presence of different concentrations of different
analytes. This has been used to help develop a handheld alcohol sensor. Also, with illicit
drug use, time is of the essence to help an overdosed victim by identifying the cocktail of
drugs that an individual has ingested. This can help save lives that may otherwise be unnec-
essarily lost. An important piece of information provided by this report is the list of key com-
panies to watch and the developers, as well as the timelines required for commercializing
the different biosensor technologies. Furthermore, it provides information on the key techno-
logical advances that are taking place in the different laboratories that are involved in bio-
sensor R&D.
