Progress and Perspectives in Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring

Abstract

Monitoring the environment for the presence of compounds which may adversely affect human health and local ecosystems is a fundamental part of the regulation, enforcement and remediation processes which will be required to maintain a habitable environment. Because of the diversity of current environmental monitoring methods, the choice of techniques used for sample collection, extraction and analysis depends on the compound or compounds of interest and the matrix they contaminate. Although classical analytical techniques are being continually refined and improved, these laboratory-based methods are, for the most part, relatively expensive and time-consuming. Because biosensor technology lends itself to fast, economical and portable analysis, these devices may provide solutions for some of the problems currently encountered in the measurement of environmental contaminants.