We have recently witnessed a boom in biosensor research as well as its translation into clinical settings and consumer products. The number of journal publications and patent applications in biosensor research is also sharply increasing. Convergence of biosensors and technologies considered distinct from biosensor research is occurring. For example, biosensors are being integrated with smartphones, cloud computing, machine learning, internet of things (IoT), etc. In addition, new types of bioreceptors and transducers, including nanoparticles, nanorods, aptamers are being introduced, thus improving assay performance while allowing for detection that has previously not been possible. Use of lab-on-a-chip (LOC), especially micro paper analytic devices (μPAD), has also become popular in biosensor development towards point-of-care or field-deployable biosensing. Thanks to these efforts, biosensor research is transitioning into real-world applications, resulting in the formation of a large number of startup companies. This thematic series highlights these exciting new trends in biosensor research.
If you are interested in submitting a manuscript for this thematic series, please contact the series editor, Jeong-Yeol Yoon, with a title and an abstract. The series will run throughout 2016.
Please note that the article "Future developments in biosensors for field-ready Zika virus diagnostics" by Nicolini et al. was handled by a different editor.