Electrochemical nanobiosensing in whole blood: Recent advances

Currently, the assay of whole blood has emerged as an important tool in modern biomedical research such as clinical diagnostics, drug discovery, and biodefense. Whole blood is a particularly complex mixture composed of various substances such as protein, glucose, inorganic salt, hormone, and biomarkers. Hence, considerable information can be obtained by investigating whole blood, for assessing the health status of the patient. Recently, significant advances have been made in electrochemical bio/immunosensing from whole blood using nanomaterials. This review describes the fabrication and chemical modification of surfaces of nanomaterials for bio/immunosensing applications in whole blood. We also present a comprehensive overview of current developments and key issues in the determination of some biological molecules, with an emphasis on evaluating the methods. We also discuss the incorporation of biorecognition elements into nanomaterial-based electrodes for immunosensing in unprocessed whole blood. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.