Porous silicon biosensor: Current status

Biosensing technologies cater to modern day diagnostics and point of care multi-specialty clinics, hospitals and laboratories. Biosensors aggregate the sensitivity of detection methodologies and constitutional selectivity of biomolecules. Endeavors to develop highly sensitive, fast, stable and low cost biosensors have been made possible by extensive and arduous research. Immense research work is going on for detection of molecules using various materials as immobilization substrate and sensing elements. Amongst materials being used as bio-sensing substrates, nano-porous silicon (PS) has amassed attention and gained popularity in recent years. It has captivating and tunable features like ease of fabrication, special optico-physico properties, tailored morphological structure and versatile surface chemistry enhancing its prospects as transducer for fabricating biosensors. The present review describes the fabrication of PS and its biosensing capabilities for detection of various analytes including, but not limited to, glucose, DNA, antibodies, bacteria and viruses. Attention has been consecrated on the various methodologies such as electrical, electrochemical, optical and label free techniques along with the performances of these biosensors. It concludes with some future prospects and challenges of PS based biosensors. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.