Digital Biosensors with Built-in Logic for Biomedical Applications

This article overviews recent advances in biomedical applications of enzyme-based logic systems, particularly for the analysis of pathophysiological conditions associated with various injuries. Novel biosensors digitally processing multiple biomarker signals produce a final output in the form of YES/NO response through Boolean logic networks composed of biomolecular systems. The biocomputing approach applied to biosensors leads to high-fidelity biosensing compared to traditional single-analyte sensing devices. By processing complex patterns of multiple physiological biomarkers, such multi-signal digital biosensors should have a profound impact on the rapid diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and particularly can provide timely detection and alert of medical emergencies (along with immediate therapeutic intervention). The novel biosensing concept has been exemplified with the systems for logic analysis of various injuries, including soft tissue injury, traumatic brain injury, liver injury, abdominal trauma, hemorrhagic shock, and oxidative stress.