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Friday, 30th October 2009 (3302 views)

Gold has been used to create minute nanorods that scientists have incorporated in a new biosensor up to ten times more sensitive than current devices.

A group of international researchers used the nanorods to build arrays between 20 and 700 nanometres in length and ten and 50 nanometres in diameter to create sensors some two centimetres square, All About Biosensors reports.

According to London South Bank University, biosensors are analytical devices that convert biological responses into electrical signals. They are often used to detect and determine the concentration of biological substances such as proteins.

While the biosensor uses a plasmonic chip mounted on a prism in the same way as conventional gold film-based SPR sensors, the gold nanorods make it up to ten times more sensitive because they create a larger surface area for the capture of biological material.

The sensor also has a deeper probe depth, making them useful for monitoring the interactions of large proteins or sandwich-type immunoassays.

All About Biosensors said the ten-fold improvement in sensitivity represents a "dramatic jump" forward for scientists that is "certain to bring new applications within the realm of label-free sensing".

 

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