Chapter 15 - C60 and carbon nanotube sensors

Abstract

This chapter discusses sensors, which can be a singular sensor or an array of sensors. Chemical and biological sensors are the evolved products of physical measurement technologies. Chemical sensors are measurement devices that convert a chemical or physical property of a specific analyte into a measurable signal whose magnitude is normally proportional to the concentration of the analyte. The principle of a biosensor employs a biological recognition process of the particular analyte through a transduction mechanism. This biological recognition process is then converted into a measurable parameter that can be optical, electrical, electrochemical, or others. This measurable parameter can then be used to quantify the analyte presented. The transduction mechanism serves an important role in the success of the advancement of a sensor or a sensor array. On the basis of the transduction principle, chemical and biological sensors can be classified into three major classes with different transducers: sensors with electrical transducers, sensors with optical transducers, and sensors with other transducers. The versatility of carbon nanotubes for making chemical sensors and biosensors with a high sensitivity and selectivity are described in the chapter.