Porous silicon biosensors employing emerging capture probes

Abstract

The application of porous silicon (PSi) for biosensing was first described by Thust et al. in 1996, demonstrating a potentiometric biosensor for the detection of penicillin. However, only in the past decade PSi has established as a promising nanomaterial for label-free biosensing applications. This chapter focuses on the integration of new emerging capture probes with PSi-based biosensing schemes. An overview of natural and synthetic receptors and their advantageous characteristics for the potential application in PSi biosensors technology is presented. We also review and discuss several examples, which successfully combine these new bioreceptors with PSi optical and electrochemical transducers, for label-free biosensing.