Abstract
Early cancer diagnosis and treatment are crucial research fields of human health. One method that has proven efficient is biomarker detection which can provide real-time and accurate biological information for early diagnosis. This review presents several biomarker sensors based on electrochemistry, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), nanowires, other nanostructures, and, most recently, metamaterials which have also shown their mechanisms and prospects in application in recent years. Compared with previous reviews, electrochemistry-based biomarker sensors have been classified into three strategies according to their optimizing methods in this review. This makes it more convenient for researchers to find a specific fabrication method to improve the performance of their sensors. Besides that, as microfabrication technologies have improved and novel materials are explored, some novel biomarker sensors—such as nanowire-based and metamaterial-based biomarker sensors—have also been investigated and summarized in this review, which can exhibit ultrahigh resolution, sensitivity, and limit of detection (LoD) in a more complex detection environment. The purpose of this review is to understand the present by reviewing the past. Researchers can break through bottlenecks of existing biomarker sensors by reviewing previous works and finally meet the various complex detection needs for the early diagnosis of human cancer.
Highlights
The health of human beings is always being one of the more complicated topics in modern science
The former biomarker sensors are beneficial for us to investigate the mechanism of diseases and are the gold standard for the status of the biomarker itself, while the latter ones meet the needs of early diagnosis or community screening
Taking advantage of more electroactive sites and a larger surface area for biomarker captured, Barman et al developed a Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) biosensor by using Pd, Au, and Pt nanocomposites which were immobilized onto the electrodes decorated by reduced graphene oxide (rGO), which is shown in Figure 3(c) [28]
Summary
The health of human beings is always being one of the more complicated topics in modern science. Regarding the reference ranges which are shown, there are two types of biosensor-based applications in the modern medical diagnosis field: one is an extremely accurate and precise detection biosensor and another is a low-cost, real-time and in-site sensing device [14] The former biomarker sensors are beneficial for us to investigate the mechanism of diseases and are the gold standard for the status of the biomarker itself, while the latter ones meet the needs of early diagnosis or community screening. In recent years, combining modern materials or secondary label enhancement technologies, lots of traditional biomarker sensors based on SPR and electrochemistry optimize their performance in sensitivity, LoD, and linear range. As the development of modern materials and microfabrication technologies advance, biomarker sensors and platforms will break through current challenges and exhibit tremendous potential for the early diagnosis of cancer and individualized health monitoring as well
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