Fusing Sensor Paradigms to Acquire Chemical Information: An Integrative Role for Smart Biopolymeric Hydrogels.
The Information Age transformed our lives but it has had surprisingly little impact on the way chemical information (e.g., from our biological world) is acquired, analyzed and communicated. Sensor systems are poised to change this situation by providing rapid access to chemical information. This access will be enabled by technological advances from various fields: biology enables the synthesis, design and discovery of molecular recognition elements as well as the generation of cell-based signal processors; physics and chemistry are providing nano-components that facilitate the transmission and transduction of signals rich with chemical information; microfabrication is yielding sensors capable of receiving these signals through various modalities; and signal processing analysis enhances the extraction of chemical information. The authors contend that integral to the development of functional sensor systems will be materials that (i) enable the integrative and hierarchical assembly of various sensing components (for chemical recognition and signal transduction) and (ii) facilitate meaningful communication across modalities. It is suggested that stimuli-responsive self-assembling biopolymers can perform such integrative functions, and redox provides modality-spanning communication capabilities. Recent progress toward the development of electrochemical sensors to manage schizophrenia is used to illustrate the opportunities and challenges for enlisting sensors for chemical information processing.
Institute for Biosystems and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.|Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
Eunkyoung
E
Kim
Institute for Biosystems and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.|Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
Yi
Y
Liu
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel.
Hadar
H
Ben-Yoav
Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.|Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
Thomas E
TE
Winkler
School of Resource and Environmental Science, Hubei Biomass-Resource Chemistry Environmental Biotechnology Key Laboratory, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
Kun
K
Yan
School of Resource and Environmental Science, Hubei Biomass-Resource Chemistry Environmental Biotechnology Key Laboratory, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
Xiaowen
X
Shi
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Jana
J
Shen
Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21228, USA.
Deanna L
DL
Kelly
Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.|Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
Reza
R
Ghodssi
Institute for Biosystems and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.|Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
William E
WE
Bentley
Institute for Biosystems and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA. gpayne@umd.edu.|Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA. gpayne@umd.edu.
Gregory F
GF
Payne
D000818:Animals; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*
D001704:Biopolymers; D020100:Hydrogels
biofabrications; electrodepositions; hydrogels; information processing; redox biology