Biosensing

Biosensors are analytical devices that convert a biological process to a detectable electric signal. Their high specificity and sensitivity make them an ideal method for detecting various chemicals and biologics in a wide variety of applications. Since the first description of a biosensor by Clark and Lyons in 1962, biosensors have come a long way, primarily owing to the improvement in the chip-based detection technologies that lead to increased sensitivity. Thereare various types of biosensors such as enzyme-based, tissue-based, immunosensors, DNA biosensors, thermal and piezoelectric biosensors. Over the years, these biosensors have become indispensablein their applications in multitudinous fields. Biosensors are predominantly usedin food industry for food quality and safety inspections; in the fermentation industry to detect precise glucose concentrations; in metabolic engineering to enable in vivo monitoring of cellular metabolism. Biosensors are being used in the medical field in the form of Oxygen sensors, glucose monitoring and are now being increasingly used detect diseases at an early stage.Biosensor applications have also expanded into the fields of plant biology, marine biology, etc.However, the limitations to detect chemicals and other smaller molecules, due to their poor immunogenicity has hindered the wide use of immunosensors for certain applications.

Antibody based biosensors or immunosensors have a specific place and application in the biosensor industry, primarily due to the unsurpassed specificity of an antibody to their antigens. Examples of use of these immunosensors is seen in medical applications such as the early detection of IL-10 post medical device implantation. Immunosensors are predominantly being developed using electrochemical detection strategies for cancer protein biomarkers including prostate-specific antigen (PSA), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), Cancer Antigens (e.g., CA-125, CA-199), to name a few. Such biomarker panels when developed as a biosensor hold enormous potential early diagnosis and a large-scale screening platform for cancer detection.

The proprietary technology at Mabgenex allows for generating highly specific antibodies without the use of immunization, enabling the possible use of these biosensors for applications that have not been historically possible.