A biosensor is an analytical device which converts a biological response into an electrical signal. The term 'biosensor' is often used to cover sensor devices used in order to determine the concentration of substances and other parameters of biological interest even where they do not utilise a biological system directly. This very broad definition is used by some scientific journals (e.g. Biosensors, Elsevier Applied Science) but will not be applied to the coverage here. The emphasis of this Chapter concerns enzymes as the biologically responsive material, but it should be recognised that other biological systems may be utilised by biosensors. The biological response of the biosensor is determined by the biocatalytic membrane which accomplishes the conversion of reactant to product. Immobilised enzymes possess a number of advantageous features which makes them particularly applicable for use in such systems.
Review article comes in the form of systematic reviews and literature reviews and are a form of secondary literature. Systematic reviews determine an objective list of criteria, and find all previously published original research papers that meet the criteria. They then compare the results presented in these papers. Literature reviews, by contrast, provide a summary of what the authors believe are the best and most relevant prior publications.
The concept of "review article" is separate from the concept of peer-reviewed literature. It is possible for a review to be peer-reviewed, and it is possible for a review to be non-peer-reviewed.
Last date updated on April, 2024