A brief review on miniaturized electrochemiluminescence devices: From fabrication to applications

Miniaturized electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems are widely recognized as a highly detection, user-friendly, and turnkey strategy to develop point-of-care-testing devices. The ECL sensing approach provides numerous advantages over other methods, including high signal-to-noise ratio and measurement with minimal or no background signal. The ECL signal can be easily controlled by a small external potential while providing high sensitivity and decreased electrode fouling, resulting in the use of ECL-based miniaturized systems for detection and monitoring of different analytes, including DNA and bacteria. In this work, different types of miniaturized ECL systems with various fabrication techniques are reviewed and their application in point-of-care-testing is thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, such ECL platforms have been summarized based on the type of the ECL mechanism, electrodes, range of detection, and limit of detection. Finally, some of the upcoming technological interventions to make such a miniaturized ECL platform amenable for portable and on-field analysis have been discussed.     

Printable Bioelectronics To Investigate Functional Biological Interfaces

Thin‐film transistors can be used as high‐performance bioelectronic devices to accomplish tasks such as sensing or controlling the release of biological species as well as transducing the electrical activity of cells or even organs, such as the brain. Organic, graphene, or zinc oxide are used as convenient printable semiconducting layers and can lead to high‐performance low‐cost bioelectronic sensing devices that are potentially very useful for point‐of‐care applications. Among others, electrolyte‐gated transistors are of interest as they can be operated as capacitance‐modulated devices, because of the high capacitance of their charge double layers. Specifically, it is the capacitance of the biolayer, being lowest in a series of capacitors, which controls the output current of the device. Such an occurrence allows for extremely high sensitivity towards very weak interactions. All the aspects governing these processes are reviewed here.     

Distance versus Capillary Flow Dynamics-Based Detection Methods on a Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Device (μPAD)

In recent years, there has been high interest in paper-based microfluidic sensors or microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) towards low-cost, portable, and easy-to-use sensing for chemical and biological targets. μPAD allows spontaneous liquid flow without any external or internal pumping, as well as an innate filtration capability. Although both optical (colorimetric and fluorescent) and electrochemical detection have been demonstrated on μPADs, several limitations still remain, such as the need for additional equipment, vulnerability to ambient lighting perturbation, and inferior sensitivity. Herein, alternative detection methods on μPADs are reviewed to resolve these issues, including relatively well studied distance-based measurements and the newer capillary flow dynamics-based method. Detection principles, assay performance, strengths, and weaknesses are explained for these methods, along with their potential future applications towards point-of-care medical diagnostics and other field-based applications.     

A Three‐Dimensional Origami Paper‐Based Device for Potentiometric Biosensing

Current paper‐based potentiometric ion‐sensing platforms are planar devices used for clinically relevant ions. These devices, however, have not been designed for the potentiometric biosensing of proteins or small molecule analytes. A three‐dimensional origami paper‐based device, in which a solid‐contact ion‐selective electrode is integrated with an all‐solid‐state reference electrode, is described for the first time. The device is made by impregnation of paper with appropriate bioreceptors and reporting reagents on different zones. By folding and unfolding the paper structures, versatile potentiometric bioassays can be performed. A USB‐controlled miniaturized electrochemical detector can be used for simple and in situ measurements. Using butyrylcholinesterase as a model enzyme, the device has been successfully applied to the detection of enzyme activities and organophosphate pesticides involved in the enzymatic system as inhibitors. The proposed 3D origami paper device allows the potentiometric biosensing of proteins and small molecules in a simple, portable, and cost‐effective way.     

Nanoparticles for the development of improved (bio)sensing systems

Nanoparticles serve as fundamental building blocks for nanobiotechnology, especially in several applications in the development of novel (bio)sensing systems. Nanoparticles can be used for modification of the surfaces of (bio)sensing transducers or as optical or electroactive labels to improve different aspects of performance, for example sensitivity, detection limit, multidetection capability, and response stability. Nanoparticles can be integrated into the transducer materials on an individual basis or inside other matrices to ensure the immobilization of recognition biomolecules and/or receptors which are the principal components of the (bio)sensing systems. Incorporation of nanoparticles into optical and electrochemical (bio)sensing systems, including their use in microfluidic based systems has the advantages of enabling the design of robust, easy to use, portable, and cost-effective devices.     

Naked‐Eye Readout of Analyte‐Induced NIR Fluorescence Responses by an Initiation–Input–Transduction Nanoplatform

Fluorescence visualization (FV) in the near‐infrared (NIR) window promises to break through the signal‐to‐background ratio (SBR) bottleneck of traditional visible‐light‐driven FV methods. However, straightforward NIR‐FV has not been realized, owing to the lack of methods to readily transduce NIR responses into instrument‐free, naked eye‐recognizable outputs. Now, an initiation–input–transduction platform comprising a well‐designed NIR fluorophore as the signal initiator and lanthanide‐doped nanocrystals as the transducer for facile NIR‐FV is presented. The analyte‐induced off–on NIR signal serves as a sensitizing switch of transducer visible luminescence for naked‐eye readout. The design is demonstrated for portable, quantitative detection of phosgene with significantly improved SBR and sensitivity. By further exploration of initiators, this strategy holds promise to create advanced NIR‐FV probes for broad sensing applications.     

Smartphones & microfluidics: Marriage for the future

Smartphones have become widely recognized as a very interesting detection and controlling tool in microfluidics. They are portable devices with built‐in cameras and internal microprocessors which carry out image processing. In this case, the external computers are not needed and phones can provide fast and accurate results. Moreover, the connectivity of smartphones gives the possibility to share and provide real‐time results when needed, whether in health diagnostics, environmental monitoring, immunoassays or food safety. Undoubtedly, the marriage of smartphones and microfluidics has a brilliant future in building low cost and easily operable systems for analysis in the field, realizing the idea of people's “smartlife”. The aim of this review is to present and summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of the use of smartphones as well as to take a closer look at some novel achievements published during the last couple of years. In the next paragraphs, readers will find specific uses of a combination of smartphones and microfluidics such as water analysis, health analysis (virus and bacteria detection), and measurement of physical properties or smartphone liquid control in polymer devices.     

Recent Advances of Carbon Nanotubes‐based Electrochemical Immunosensors for the Detection of Protein Cancer Biomarkers

An efficient electrochemical immunosensor can offer the potential for the detection of protein cancer biomarkers due to its high sensitivity, low cost and possible integration in compact analytical devices. In the last several years, researchers have developed various electrochemical immunoassay methods for the detection of protein cancer biomarkers. Significant progresses have been made in the study of electrochemical immunosensor that based on CNTs, especially in the fields of clinical screening and diagnosis of cancer field. This is because CNTs possess unique structural, mechanical and electronic properties that can decrease over‐potential and improve the sensitivity of electrochemical immunosensor. This paper reviews recent advances in the different modified strategies of constructing electrochemical immunosensor based on CNTs for detecting protein cancer biomarkers. CNTs or CNTs hybrid nanomaterials modified electrodes have been firstly introduced as the sensing platforms for the detection of protein cancer biomarkers. On the other hand, CNTs or functional CNTs used as labels in sandwich‐type electrochemical immunosensors have been systematically summarized. These novel strategies and the general principles could increase the sensitivity of the immunosensor, thereby overcoming the limitations of its application in the biosensing field.     

Photonic sensor devices for explosive detection

For the sensitive online and in situ detection of gaseous species, optical methods are ideally suited. In contrast to chemical analysis, no sample preparation is necessary and therefore spectroscopic methods should be favorable both in respect of a fast signal recovery and economically because no disposal is needed. However, spectroscopic methods are currently not widely used for security applications. We review photonic sensor devices for the detection of explosives in the gas phase as well as the condensed phase and the underlying spectroscopic techniques with respect to their adaptability for security applications, where high sensitivity, high selectivity, and a low false-alarm rate are of importance. The measurements have to be performed under ambient conditions and often remote handling or even operation in standoff configuration is needed. For handheld and portable equipment, special attention is focused on the miniaturization and examples for already-available sensor devices are given.     

Recent progress in thin film fluorescent probe for organic amine vapour

There are great needs for real-time detection of volatile organic amines(VOA)through low-cost detection methods in public health,food safety,and environmental monitoring area.Organic thin-film fluorescent probe(OTFFP)is expected to become a new and efficient means of detecting VOA because of its fast response,high sensitivity,no contamination to the analyte and ease to prepare a portable instrument.Compared with the mature detection methods in solution,research on solid fluorescence sensing has been less studied.In this article,we review recent progress in OTFFP research for VOA vapour.We mainly focus on the new fluorescent sensing mechanisms applied in solid state in recent years and the design principle of probes for different types of organic amines(such as primary amine,secondary amine,tertiary amine and aromatic amine).We also review the material structures of these probes and the strategies to enhance their sensitivity or selectivity.     

Design of portable electrochemiluminescence sensing systems for point-of-care-testing applications

Point-of-care testing(POCT) technology is highly desirable for clinical diagnosis, healthcare monitoring,food safety inspection, and environment surveillance, because it enables rapid detection anywhere, anytime, and by anyone. Electrochemiluminescence(ECL) has been widely used in chemo-/bio analysis due to its advantages such as high sensitivity, simplicity, rapidity and easy to control, and is now attracting increasing attention for POCT applications. However, to realize the accurate on-site q...     

Electrochemical Sensing of Explosives

This article reviews recent advances in electrochemical sensing and detection of explosive substances. Escalating threats of terrorist activities and growing environmental concerns have generated major demands for innovative field‐deployable tools for detecting explosives in a fast, sensitive, reliable and simple manner. Field detection of explosive substances requires that a powerful analytical performance be coupled to miniaturized low‐cost instrumentation. Electrochemical devices offer attractive opportunities for addressing the growing explosive sensing needs. The advantages of electrochemical systems include high sensitivity and selectivity, speed, a wide linear range, compatibility with modern microfabrication techniques, minimal space and power requirements, and low‐cost instrumentation. The inherent electroactivity of nitroaromatic, nitramine and nitroester compounds makes them ideal candidates for electrochemical detection. Recent activity in various laboratories has led to the development of disposable sensor strips, novel electrode materials, submersible remote sensors, and electrochemical detectors for microchip (‘Lab‐on‐Chip’) devices for on‐site electrochemical detection of explosive substances. The attractive behavior of these electrochemical monitoring systems makes them very promising for addressing major security and environmental problems.     

Electrochemical Detection for Capillary Electrophoresis Microchips: A Review

Electrochemistry detection offers considerable promise for capillary‐electrophoresis (CE) microchips, with features that include remarkable sensitivity, portability, independence of optical path length or sample turbidity, low cost and power requirements, and high compatibility with modern micromachining technologies. This article highlights key strategies in controlled‐potential electrochemical detectors for CE microchip systems, along with recent advances and directions. Subjects covered include the design of the electrochemical detection system, its requirements and operational principles, common electrode materials, isolation from the separation voltage, derivatization reactions, typical applications, and future prospects. It is expected that electrochemical detection will become a powerful tool for CE microchip systems and will lead to the creation of truly portable (and possibly disposable) devices.     

New advances in microfluidic flow cytometry

In recent years, researchers are paying the increasing attention to the development of portable microfluidic diagnostic devices including microfluidic flow cytometry for the point‐of‐care testing. Microfluidic flow cytometry, where microfluidics and flow cytometry work together to realize novel functionalities on the microchip, provides a powerful tool for measuring the multiple characteristics of biological samples. The development of a portable, low‐cost, and compact flow cytometer can benefit the health care in underserved areas such as Africa or Asia. In this article, we review recent advancements of microfluidics including sample pumping, focusing and sorting, novel detection approaches, and data analysis in the field of flow cytometry. The challenge of microfluidic flow cytometry is also examined briefly.     

Engineered cells as biosensing systems in biomedical analysis

Over the past two decades there have been great advances in biotechnology, including use of nucleic acids, proteins, and whole cells to develop a variety of molecular analytical tools for diagnostic, screening, and pharmaceutical applications. Through manipulation of bacterial plasmids and genomes, bacterial whole-cell sensing systems have been engineered that can serve as novel methods for analyte detection and characterization, and as more efficient and cost-effective alternatives to traditional analytical techniques. Bacterial cell-based sensing systems are typically sensitive, specific and selective, rapid, easy to use, low-cost, and amenable to multiplexing, high-throughput, and miniaturization for incorporation into portable devices. This critical review is intended to provide an overview of available bacterial whole-cell sensing systems for assessment of a variety of clinically relevant analytes. Specifically, we examine whole-cell sensing systems for detection of bacterial quorum sensing molecules, organic and inorganic toxic compounds, and drugs, and for screening of antibacterial compounds for identification of their mechanisms of action. Methods used in the design and development of whole-cell sensing systems are also reviewed.     

Crack‐Free Periodic Porous Thin Films Assisted by Plasma Irradiation at Low Temperature and Their Enhanced Gas‐Sensing Performance

Homogenous thin films are preferable for high‐performance gas sensors because of their remarkable reproducibility and long‐term stability. In this work, a low‐temperature fabrication route is presented to prepare crack‐free and homogenous metal oxide periodic porous thin films by oxygen plasma irradiation instead of high temperature annealing by using a sacrificial colloidal template. Rutile SnO₂ is taken as an example to demonstrate the validity of this route. The crack‐free and homogenous porous thin films are successfully synthesized on the substrates in situ with electrodes. The SnO₂ porous thin film obtained by plasma irradiation is rich in surface OH groups and hence superhydrophilic. It exhibits a more homogenous structure and lower resistance than porous films generated by annealing. More importantly, such thin films display higher sensitivity, a lower detection threshold (100 ppb to acetone) and better durability than those that have been directly annealed, resulting in enhanced gas‐sensing performance. The presented method could be applied to synthesize other metal oxide homogenous thin films and to fabricate gas‐sensing devices with high performances.     

Recent Advances in Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells: Fabrication and Applications

Flexible perovskite solar cells have attracted widespread research effort because of their potential in portable electronics. The efficiency has exceeded 18 % owing to the high‐quality perovskite film achieved by various low‐temperature fabrication methods and matching of the interface and electrode materials. This Review focuses on recent progress in flexible perovskite solar cells concerning low‐temperature fabrication methods to improve the properties of perovskite films, such as full coverage, uniform morphology, and good crystallinity; demonstrated interface layers used in flexible perovskite solar cells, considering key figures‐of‐merit such as high transmittance, high carrier mobility, suitable band gap, and easy fabrication via low‐temperature methods; flexible transparent electrode materials developed to enhance the mechanical stability of the devices; mechanical and long‐term environmental stability; an outlook of flexible perovskite solar cells in portable electronic devices; and perspectives of commercialization for flexible perovskite solar cells based on cost.     

Analyte‐Triggered DNA‐Probe Release from a Triplex Molecular Beacon for Nanopore Sensing

A new nanopore sensing strategy based on triplex molecular beacon was developed for the detection of specific DNA or multivalent proteins. The sensor is composed of a triplex‐forming molecular beacon and a stem‐forming DNA component that is modified with a host–guest complex. Upon target DNA hybridizing with the molecular beacon loop or multivalent proteins binding to the recognition elements on the stem, the DNA probe is released and produces highly characteristic current signals when translocated through α‐hemolysin. The frequency of current signatures can be used to quantify the concentrations of the target molecules. This sensing approach provides a simple, quick, and modular tool for the detection of specific macromolecules with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity. It may find useful applications in point‐of‐care diagnostics with a portable nanopore kit in the future.     

Electrochemistry on Paper‐based Analytical Devices: A Review

Even though they were introduced less than a decade ago, electrochemical paper‐based devices (ePADs) have attracted widespread attention because of their inherent advantages in many applications. ePADs combine the advantages of microfluidic paper‐based devices (low cost, ease of use, equipment free pumping, etc.) for sample handling and processing with the advantages of sensitive and selective detection provided by electrochemistry. As a result, ePADs provide simplicity, portability, reproducibility, low cost and high selectivity and sensitivity for analytical measurements in a variety of applications ranging from clinical diagnostics to environmental sensing. Herein, recent advances in ePAD development and application are reviewed, focusing on electrode fabrication techniques and examples of applications specially focused on environmental monitoring, biological applications and clinical assays. Finally, a summary and prospective directions for ePAD research are also provided.     

On‐Chip Tailorability of Capacitive Gas Sensors Integrated with Metal–Organic Framework Films

Gas sensing technologies for smart cities require miniaturization, cost‐effectiveness, low power consumption, and outstanding sensitivity and selectivity. On‐chip, tailorable capacitive sensors integrated with metal–organic framework (MOF) films are presented, in which abundant coordinatively unsaturated metal sites are available for gas detection. The in situ growth of homogeneous Mg‐MOF‐74 films is realized with an appropriate metal‐to‐ligand ratio. The resultant sensors exhibit selective detection for benzene vapor and carbon dioxide (CO₂) at room temperature. Postsynthetic modification of Mg‐MOF‐74 films with ethylenediamine decreases sensitivity toward benzene but increases selectivity to CO₂. The reduced porosity and blocked open metal sites caused by amine coordination account for a deterioration in the sensing performance for benzene (by ca. 60 %). The enhanced sensitivity for CO₂ (by ca. 25 %) stems from a tailored amine–CO₂ interaction. This study demonstrates the feasibility of tuning gas sensing properties by adjusting MOF–analyte interactions, thereby offering new perspectives for the development of MOF‐based sensors.