Engineering a Signal Transduction Mechanism for Protein-Based Biosensors

Chemical and biological sensing involve various compounds and conditions for different purposes, such as recognizing all genes and their products and understanding how they interact in the body (genomics, proteomics, interactomics). There is a need to analyze many compounds, including newly synthesized compounds, and select potentially useful ones from the millions available in the environment. In terms of applicability, biosensors are used in applications ranging from evaluating drug efficacy and safety to controlling the technologies of agricultural production, food processing, and industrial products. With miniaturization, continuous monitoring is another avenue to protect environmental safety, patient care, and diagnostics against microbes. Thus, measuring biological or biochemical processes is crucial for medical, biological, and biotechnological use. However, linking an electronic device to a biological environment remains challenging. Many devices and concepts have been developed in recent years. This book chapter provides an overview of protein-based biosensors and, more specifically, covers the two critical aspects that have significant ongoing research efforts. Namely, signal transduction mechanisms based on operating principles, electrochemical, surface plasmon resonance, photoluminescence, and engineering protein recognition materials are critical to achieving performance requirements for real-world applications.