The application of cell based biosensor and biochip for environmental monitoring

Abstract

The cell based biosensor has outstanding advantages in aspect of environmental monitoring, comparing with DNA or protein based biosensor. Various cell based biosensors to detect toxic chemicals have been researched in few decades and applied directly to environmental fields. In this study, some key technologies such as cell immobilization technology, on-chip cell cultivation technology, and cell viability detection technology required to develop cell based biosensors are categorized and briefly discussed. We suggests that cell based biochip can be applied to environmental monitoring by demonstrating that phenol can be successfully measured by two distinct cell based label-free biochips, SPR based cell chip and electric based cell chip, developed using key technologies. © 2009 Springer Netherlands.