Advancement in Biosensors Based on Emerging Polymers

In recent years, biosensors have become ubiquitous in the field of biomedical research and major enhancements have been achieved in widespread applications, such as diagnosis, biomedicine, drug discovery, environmental monitoring, food safety and processing, defense, and security. Basically, biosensors are powerful, innovative, and versatile analytical devices used for detection, quantification, and monitoring of an analyte or a target through the transformation of biological response into an electrical signal. The response from a biosensor is illustrated via a numerical value or a color change or formation of a visible product. Quintessentially, sensitivity and selectivity are the two most significant parameters which are used to evaluate the performance of biosensors. Currently, polymers are indispensable components and the dominant platforms utilized for the development of biosensors, owing to their favorable properties, such as cost-effectiveness, suitability for mass replication, elegant flexibility, excellent stability, and environmentally friendly disposability. As a consequence, several biocompatible polymers are identified and utilized for the fabrication of injectable and implantable biosensors. Numerous improvements have been achieved using advanced polymer for the creation of low-cost and portable biosensors. Especially, conductive polymers, composites, and molecularly imprinted polymers influence the design, strategy, and fabrication of biosensors as they are inexpensive and simpler to manufacture than traditional classical electrodes. This chapter demonstrates the general concept of the biosensor, the development of polymer-based biosensors in past decades, and their future possibilities.