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Otto S. Wolfbeis (born 18 July 1947) was a professor of analytical chemistry and Interface chemistry at the University of Regensburg in Germany until his retirement in 2013.
Wolfbeis [1] [2] studied chemistry at the University of Graz (Austria) and in 1972 received a PhD in organic chemistry. He then was a post-doctoral fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for Radiation Chemistry (now Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion) in the group of Prof. Koerner von Gustorf. In 1974 he became an assistant professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Graz. In 1978 he was a visiting scientist at the Technical University of Berlin in the group of Prof. Ernst Lippert. He became a lecturer (Dozent) in 1979 after submission of a habilitation thesis entitled Syntheses and Spectroscopic Properties of Laser Dyes and Fluorescent Indicators. In the years thereafter, he was a visiting professor at Tufts University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Wuhan University. From 1991 to 1994 he also was the Founding Director of the Institute for Optical Sensors at Joanneum Research (now the Institute for Surface Technology and Photonics). In 1995 he became a full professor at Regensburg University and established its Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Chemo- and Biosensors. As an academic teacher, Wolfbeis has supervised the work of more than 80 PhD students, post-doctoral fellows and Humboldt fellows. Many of them meanwhile have made an impressive academic career. [3]
Wolfbeis was the director of the institute, dean of the faculty for chemistry and pharmacy, member of the senate of the university, and its vice president. He also acted as the head of the Laboratory for Environmental Radioactivity, as the Regensburg representative of the Bavarian Elite Academy . He initiated the establishment of a Fraunhofer Group for Optical Sensing in Regensburg (now part of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies (EMFT) in Munich). Wolfbeis founded the conference series on Methods & Applications in Fluorescence in 1989 and was the chairman of its steering committee until 2007. In 1992 he organized the first conference on optical methods for chemical sensing and biosensing Europtrode . In 1996 he founded, with Robert Kellner (Vienna), the Advanced Study Course on Optical Sensors (ASCOS), a summer school for interdisciplinary training in the various technologies needed in biochemical optical sensing.
The main research activities of Wolfbeis were in molecular fluorescent probes, in chemical sensors and biosensors (including fiber optic sensors), luminescent nanomaterials, upconverting particles, photonic crystals, electrochemical sensors and in optical imaging. He has published more than 500 publications in peer-reviewed journals [4] [5] Numerous articles have appeared that describe new (bio)sensor materials, [6] electrochemical (bio)sensors, [7] fluorescent nanosensors, [8] methods of fluorescent imaging, [9] and optical probes and indicators. [10] Wolfbeis is nominated a co-inventor in around 40 patents. [11] Several of his discoveries have led to industrial products. [12] His research formed the basis for a spin-off company that is fabricating fibre optic sensor, sensor layers and imagers for oxygen, pH values and CO2. [13]
A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with a diameter in the nanometer range (nanoscale). They are one of the allotropes of carbon.
A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of detecting a physical phenomenon.
In molecular biology and biotechnology, a fluorescent tag, also known as a fluorescent label or fluorescent probe, is a molecule that is attached chemically to aid in the detection of a biomolecule such as a protein, antibody, or amino acid. Generally, fluorescent tagging, or labeling, uses a reactive derivative of a fluorescent molecule known as a fluorophore. The fluorophore selectively binds to a specific region or functional group on the target molecule and can be attached chemically or biologically. Various labeling techniques such as enzymatic labeling, protein labeling, and genetic labeling are widely utilized. Ethidium bromide, fluorescein and green fluorescent protein are common tags. The most commonly labelled molecules are antibodies, proteins, amino acids and peptides which are then used as specific probes for detection of a particular target.
A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector. The sensitive biological element, e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell receptors, enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids, etc., is a biologically derived material or biomimetic component that interacts with, binds with, or recognizes the analyte under study. The biologically sensitive elements can also be created by biological engineering. The transducer or the detector element, which transforms one signal into another one, works in a physicochemical way: optical, piezoelectric, electrochemical, electrochemiluminescence etc., resulting from the interaction of the analyte with the biological element, to easily measure and quantify. The biosensor reader device connects with the associated electronics or signal processors that are primarily responsible for the display of the results in a user-friendly way. This sometimes accounts for the most expensive part of the sensor device, however it is possible to generate a user friendly display that includes transducer and sensitive element. The readers are usually custom-designed and manufactured to suit the different working principles of biosensors.
Nanosensors are nanoscale devices that measure physical quantities and convert these to signals that can be detected and analyzed. There are several ways proposed today to make nanosensors; these include top-down lithography, bottom-up assembly, and molecular self-assembly. There are different types of nanosensors in the market and in development for various applications, most notably in defense, environmental, and healthcare industries. These sensors share the same basic workflow: a selective binding of an analyte, signal generation from the interaction of the nanosensor with the bio-element, and processing of the signal into useful metrics.
In molecular biology, biochips are engineered substrates that can host large numbers of simultaneous biochemical reactions. One of the goals of biochip technology is to efficiently screen large numbers of biological analytes, with potential applications ranging from disease diagnosis to detection of bioterrorism agents. For example, digital microfluidic biochips are under investigation for applications in biomedical fields. In a digital microfluidic biochip, a group of (adjacent) cells in the microfluidic array can be configured to work as storage, functional operations, as well as for transporting fluid droplets dynamically.
Nanochemistry is an emerging sub-discipline of the chemical and material sciences that deals with the development of new methods for creating nanoscale materials. The term "nanochemistry" was first used by Ozin in 1992 as 'the uses of chemical synthesis to reproducibly afford nanomaterials from the atom "up", contrary to the nanoengineering and nanophysics approach that operates from the bulk "down"'. Nanochemistry focuses on solid-state chemistry that emphasizes synthesis of building blocks that are dependent on size, surface, shape, and defect properties, rather than the actual production of matter. Atomic and molecular properties mainly deal with the degrees of freedom of atoms in the periodic table. However, nanochemistry introduced other degrees of freedom that controls material's behaviors by transformation into solutions. Nanoscale objects exhibit novel material properties, largely as a consequence of their finite small size. Several chemical modifications on nanometer-scaled structures approve size dependent effects.
A molecular sensor or chemosensor is a molecular structure that is used for sensing of an analyte to produce a detectable change or a signal. The action of a chemosensor, relies on an interaction occurring at the molecular level, usually involves the continuous monitoring of the activity of a chemical species in a given matrix such as solution, air, blood, tissue, waste effluents, drinking water, etc. The application of chemosensors is referred to as chemosensing, which is a form of molecular recognition. All chemosensors are designed to contain a signalling moiety and a recognition moiety, that is connected either directly to each other or through a some kind of connector or a spacer. The signalling is often optically based electromagnetic radiation, giving rise to changes in either the ultraviolet and visible absorption or the emission properties of the sensors. Chemosensors may also be electrochemically based. Small molecule sensors are related to chemosensors. These are traditionally, however, considered as being structurally simple molecules and reflect the need to form chelating molecules for complexing ions in analytical chemistry. Chemosensors are synthetic analogues of biosensors, the difference being that biosensors incorporate biological receptors such as antibodies, aptamers or large biopolymers.
Stefan Seeger is a German chemist and professor at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
Tuan Vo-Dinh is R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering and professor of Chemistry and director of the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics at Duke.
Joseph Wang is an American biomedical engineer and inventor. He is a Distinguished Professor, SAIC Endowed Chair, and former Chair of the Department of Nanoengineering at the University of California, San Diego, who specialised in nanomachines, biosensors, nano-bioelectronics, wearable devices, and electrochemistry. He is also the Director of the UCSD Center of Wearable Sensors and co-director of the UCSD Center of Mobile Health Systems and Applications (CMSA).
A fiber-optic sensor is a sensor that uses optical fiber either as the sensing element, or as a means of relaying signals from a remote sensor to the electronics that process the signals. Fibers have many uses in remote sensing. Depending on the application, fiber may be used because of its small size, or because no electrical power is needed at the remote location, or because many sensors can be multiplexed along the length of a fiber by using light wavelength shift for each sensor, or by sensing the time delay as light passes along the fiber through each sensor. Time delay can be determined using a device such as an optical time-domain reflectometer and wavelength shift can be calculated using an instrument implementing optical frequency domain reflectometry.
Fluorescent glucose biosensors are devices that measure the concentration of glucose in diabetic patients by means of sensitive protein that relays the concentration by means of fluorescence, an alternative to amperometric sension of glucose. Due to the prevalence of diabetes, it is the prime drive in the construction of fluorescent biosensors. A recent development has been approved by the FDA allowing a new continuous glucose monitoring system called EverSense, which is a 90-day glucose monitor using fluorescent biosensors.
A genetically engineered fluorescent protein that changes its fluorescence when bound to the neurotransmitter glutamate. Glutamate-sensitive fluorescent reporters are used to monitor the activity of presynaptic terminals by fluorescence microscopy. GluSnFRs are a class of optogenetic sensors used in neuroscience research. In brain tissue, two-photon microscopy is typically used to monitor GluSnFR fluorescence.
Jin Zhang is a Chinese-American biochemist. She is a professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry, and biomedical engineering at the University of California, San Diego.
Paper-based biosensors are a subset of paper-based microfluidics used to detect the presence of pathogens in water. Paper-based detection devices have been touted for their low cost, portability and ease of use. Its portability in particular makes it a good candidate for point-of-care testing. However, there are also limitations to these assays, and scientists are continually working to improve accuracy, sensitivity, and ability to test for multiple contaminants at the same time.
Antje Baeumner is a German chemist who is Professor and Director of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Chemo- and Biosensors at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Her research considers biosensors and lab-on-a-chip devices for the detection of pathogenic organisms.
Optogenetics began with methods to alter neuronal activity with light, using e.g. channelrhodopsins. In a broader sense, optogenetic approaches also include the use of genetically encoded biosensors to monitor the activity of neurons or other cell types by measuring fluorescence or bioluminescence. Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) are used frequently to monitor neuronal activity, but other cellular parameters such as membrane voltage or second messenger activity can also be recorded optically. The use of optogenetic sensors is not restricted to neuroscience, but plays increasingly important roles in immunology, cardiology and cancer research.
MicroRNA (miRNA) biosensors are analytical devices that involve interactions between the target miRNA strands and recognition element on a detection platform to produce signals that can be measured to indicate levels or the presence of the target miRNA. Research into miRNA biosensors shows shorter readout times, increased sensitivity and specificity of miRNA detection and lower fabrication costs than conventional miRNA detection methods.
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