What is Biosensor?

A biosensor is an analytical device which converts

the biological signal into a measurable electrical
signal.

Professor Leland C Clark is the father of Biosensor.

1918–2005
A Good Biosensor is:
• It should provide accurate, precise, reproducible and
stable results.
• It should be free from electrical noise.
• It should be cheap, small, portable and capable of being used by semi-skilled
operators.
• The reaction should be independent from physical parameters
(stirring, pH and temperature, etc).
 Components of Biosensor
A substance whose
chemical
constituents are
being identified
and measured.
e.g. Glucose

A molecule that
specifically • Electrochemical
recognizes the • Optical
analyte is known •Thermal
as a bioreceptor. •Piezoelectric
•Acoustic
The process of
• Electronics signal generation
(in the form of
light, heat, charge
( DNA / RNA ) or mass change,
etc.)
Enzyme Based Biosensor
Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts(biocatalysts). Catalysts accelerate chemical reactions. The
substance upon which enzymes may act are called substrates/Analyte, and the enzyme converts the substrates into
different molecules.

Enzymes are the part of Bioreceptor in Biosensor. A molecule that specifically recognises the analyte is known as
bioreceptor.

It is necessary, to design properly the biorecognition part of a biosensor element of the transducer . In addition, one of the key
aspects of sensor preparation is the selection of the appropriate technique.

The biomolecules / bioreceptor should be capable to preserve their structure, function, and biological activity during biosensor
use.

In Glucometer [Glucose monitoring device (for diabetes patients)], the electrode is the transducer
and the enzyme is the bioreceptor.
Enzyme Based Electrochemical Biosensor: Glucometer
(Amperometric Biosensor:
• Enzyme electrode will convert the substances /chemical present in the solution into the ionic
product. Reaction-I Reaction-II

Another Chemical on
Enzyme
strip

Blood Gluco- oxidase Gluconic acid Ferricyanide Ferrocyanide

Glucose on strip
Calibrated in terms of level of sugar

Digital Display ADC Analog Electrode

Eventually, from the portable device current will flow to the electrodes then ferrocyanide opposing the
flow of current through the electrodes and so that the resistance will produced. This resistance will
change the current flow which is again measured using this portable device.
Applications
There are numerous applications, some of them are used in:

• Monitoring blood glucose level of diabetes patients.

• Detection of Environmental contamination e.g. the detection of pesticides and heavy metals
in river water.

• Remote sensing of airborne pathogens during epidemic outbreaks

• Determining levels of toxic substances before and after bioremediation.

• Routine analytical measurement of folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12.

• Drug discovery.
ECG
• Electrocardiogram refers to the recording of electrical changes that occurs in heart during a cardiac cycle.
• It is an instrument that picks up the electric currents produced by the heart muscles during a cardiac cycle
of contraction and relaxation.
•Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG). It is a graph of voltage
versus time of the electrical activity of the heart using electrodes placed on the skin.
• An electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the simplest and fastest tests used to evaluate the heart beats.
• Electrodes (small, plastic patches that stick to the skin) are placed at certain spots on the chest, arms,
and legs.
•The electrodes are connected to an
ECG machine by lead wires. The
electrical activity of the heart is then
measured, interpreted, and printed
out.
EMG
• EMG (electromyography) records the movement of our muscles.
• It is based on the simple fact that whenever a muscle contracts, a electric activity is generated which
propagates through adjacent tissue and bone and it can be recorded from neighboring skin areas.
•The electrical activity of the muscle is then measured, interpreted, and printed out.
•Working principle is very similar to ECG.
RGB Colour Sensor ( TCS 230)
Principle:
•The TCS 230 color sensor senses the color light by using the photodiodes. The sensor converts the
readings from the photodiode into a square wave by using the light to frequency . The frequency of
these waves is directly proportional to the light intensity.
•Then the Arduino reads these square waves and gives us the values of the RGB colors.
The RGB sensor has 10 pins; S0, S1 are for setting the frequency and
S2, S3 are for reading the color values. The out pin is supposed to give
the output to Arduino in the form of a square wave. The other pins are
for powering the sensor. The sensor also consists of four LED lights.

TCS230 Arduino Uno S1 Pin 9

VCC 5V S2 Pin 12

GND GND S3 Pin 11

S0 Pin 8 OUT Pin 10

RGB Colour Sensor ( TCS 230)
RGB Colour Sensor ( TCS 230)
Working of RGB Color Sensor:
•TCS230 color sensor consists of an 8X8 array of photodiodes.
•These photodiodes consist of three different color filters. 16 of them are red, 16 of them are green, 16 of
them are blue and 16 of them are clear (No color). Every 16 photodiodes are connected in parallel. So, if we
want to read colors, then we can read them by using the S2 and S3 pins.
•The pin combination for reading the RGB colors is as follows:

S2 S3 Color

LOW LOW Red

LOW HIGH Blue

HIGH LOW Clear

HIGH HIGH Green

Hydraulics and Pneumatics: linear and rotary actuators
1. linear actuators
• Cylinders
 Single acting
 Double acting