Chemosensors

What is a chemosensor?

Chemosensors are devices that detect molecules, biomolecules or ions

How does a chemosensor work?

Chemosensors work via molecular interactions happening between a receptor bound to a surface and an analyte.

In electrochemical chemosensors, the receptors are bound to the working electrode of the device.

What is the difference between a chemosensor and a biosensor?

Both chemosensors and biosensors work in a similar fashion. However, they differ in the type of receptor used:

  • For chemosensors, the receptor is synthetic.
  • For biosensors, the receptor is biologic.

Therefore, chemosensors are the synthetic counterparts of biosensors.

What is better, a chemosensor or a biosensor?

It depends on the application.

Biosensors, since they have a biological receptor, tend to have a shorter lifetime than chemosensors. So for continuous monitoring, chemosensors are normally more desirable due to ther longer lifetime.

However, for applications where selectivity is critical, such as glucose detection in blood, biosensors are the better choice due to their high selectivity and specificity.

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