Current Analytical Chemistry - Volume 18, Issue 6, 2022

Background: Bipolar electrode (BPE), as an immersed electrical conductor in the electrolyte, can be polarized into cathodic and anodic poles under a sufficient electric field without direct contact, which affords a unique way to promote asymmetrical reactions at two poles. Up to date, bipolar electrochemistry has been widely used in the preparation of Janus materials, the fabrication of sensing/screening platform, target focusi Read More

Cells, regarded as the structural and functional units of organisms, have become one of the most important objects in many research areas. Specific recognition and detection of malignant cells are critical for disease diagnosis, therapy and prognosis. Aptamers are short; single-stranded oligonucleotides screened from a random library by an in vitro technology termed “Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enric Read More

Background: Imaging of RNA in vivo is of great significance for elucidating their biological functions, revealing mechanisms behind the disease, and for further diagnosis and treatment. Over the past decade, a variety of DNA-based molecular imaging techniques have been developed for RNA imaging in living cells. Nevertheless, non-invasive imaging of RNA in animals is still limited. Methods: An overview of the literature involvi Read More

Background: Integrating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with other functional materials to form MOF-composites has attracted great attention. Their diverse and synergetic performance (e.g., mechanical stability, conductivity, optical signal and catalytic activity) facilitates their applications in sensing of various target molecules. Methods: Up to now, a wide range of MOF-composites have been designed and synthesized. The ch Read More

Background: In recent years, electrochemical sensors are widely preferred because of their high sensitivity, rapid response, low cost and easy miniaturization. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), a porous crystalline polymer formed by organic units connected by covalent bonds, have been widely used in gas adsorption and separation, drug transportation, energy storage, photoelectric catalysis, electrochemistry and ot Read More

Background: Cell membrane is a physical barrier for cells, as well as an important structure with complex functions in cell activities. The cell membrane can not only receive external mechanical signal stimulation and make response (e.g. cell migration, differentiation, tumorigenesis, growth), but it can also spontaneously exert force on the environment to regulate cell activities (such as tissue repair, tumor metastasis, Read More

Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) plays a significant role in biological processes and the ATP level is closely associated with many diseases. In order to detect ATP in live cells, tissues, and body fluids with high sensitivity and selectivity, researchers have developed various sensing strategies. Particularly, owing to the distinct physicochemical properties of nanomaterials and the high sensitivity of fluorescence, a lot of efforts ha Read More

Background: Soft wearable electrochemical biosensors are attracting increasing attention over the past several years due to their potential for non-invasive personalized health monitoring in real-time and in-situ. Objective: Herein, we cover the design, fabrication, and applications of soft electrochemical sensing systems. Firstly, we describe key design requirements for fabricating the mechanically compliant electrochemic Read More

Background: Personal Glucose Meter (PGM) has become the most successful biosensor in past decades due to its advantages of small size, convenient operation, and low cost. To take advantage of many years of research and development of PGMs, new signal transduction methods have been developed to expand the PGM from simple monitoring of blood glucose to the detection of numerous non-glucose targets. O Read More

Background: The comprehensive understanding of nanomaterials’ behavior in biological systems is essential in accurately modeling and predicting nanomaterials’ fate and toxicity. Synchrotron radiation (SR) X-ray techniques, based on their ability to study electronic configuration, coordination geometry, or oxidative state of nanomaterials with high sensitivity and spatial resolution, have been introduced to analyze the transform Read More

Background: Nanozymes are a kind of emerging nanomaterials that can mimic the catalytic activity of natural enzymes with good stability. Objective: Benefited by the unique coordination structure and constitution, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely exploited as novel nanozymes. Importantly, various MOFs engineered with fascinating functions provide great opportunities to enhance their enzyme-like a Read More

Single-atom (SA) catalysts, as a rising star in the catalytic field, have many advantages over traditional nanocatalysts. SA catalysts have improved catalytic activity, a simple and tunable structure, and obvious active sites, which might provide a good opportunity for biosensing technique innovation. This paper will review the latest research progress of SA catalysts in the biosensing field. In particular, we will emphasize on t Read More