Introductory Bioelectronics: For Engineers and Physical Scientists

Bioelectronics is a rich field of research involving the application of electronics engineering principles to biology, medicine, and the health sciences. With its interdisciplinary nature, bioelectronics spans state-of-the-art research at the interface between the life sciences, engineering and physical sciences. Introductory Bioelectronics offers a concise overview of the field and teaches the fundamentals of biochemical, biophysical, electrical, and physiological concepts relevant to bioelectronics. It is the first book to bring together these various topics, and to explain the basic theory and practical applications at an introductory level. The authors describe and contextualise the science by examining recent research and commercial applications. They also cover the design methods and forms of instrumentation that are required in the application of bioelectronics technology. The result is a unique book with the following key features: an interdisciplinary approach, which develops theory through practical examples and clinical applications, and delivers the necessary biological knowledge from an electronic engineer’s perspective a problem section in each chapter that readers can use for self-assessment, with model answers given at the end of the book along with references to key scientific publications discussions of new developments in the bioelectronics and biosensors fields, such as microfluidic devices and nanotechnology Supplying the tools to succeed, this text is the best resource for engineering and physical sciences students in bioelectronics, biomedical engineering and micro/nano-engineering.  Not only that, it is also a resource for researchers without formal training in biology, who are entering PhD programmes or working on industrial projects in these areas.

Table of Contents:
About the Authors xiii Foreword xv Preface xvii Acknowledgements xix 1 Basic Chemical and Biochemical Concepts 1 1.1 Chapter Overview 1 1.2 Energy and Chemical Reactions 1 1.3 Water and Hydrogen Bonds 15 1.4 Acids, Bases and pH 18 1.5 Summary of Key Concepts 25 2 Cells and their Basic Building Blocks 29 2.1 Chapter Overview 29 2.2 Lipids and Biomembranes 29 2.3 Carbohydrates and Sugars 32 2.4 Amino Acids, Polypeptides and Proteins 34 2.5 Nucleotides, Nucleic Acids, DNA, RNA and Genes 43 2.6 Cells and Pathogenic Bioparticles 51 2.7 Summary of Key Concepts 70 3 Basic Biophysical Concepts and Methods 73 3.1 Chapter Overview 73 3.2 Electrostatic Interactions 74 3.3 Hydrophobic and Hydration Forces 90 3.4 Osmolarity, Tonicity and Osmotic Pressure 91 3.5 Transport of Ions and Molecules across Cell Membranes 94 3.6 Electrochemical Gradients and Ion Distributions Across Membranes 99 3.7 Osmotic Properties of Cells 103 3.8 Probing the Electrical Properties of Cells 105 3.9 Membrane Equilibrium Potentials 111 3.10 Nernst Potential and Nernst Equation 112 3.11 The Equilibrium (Resting) Membrane Potential 114 3.12 Membrane Action Potential 116 3.13 Channel Conductance 120 3.14 The Voltage Clamp 121 3.15 Patch-Clamp Recording 122 3.16 Electrokinetic Effects 124 4 Spectroscopic Techniques 147 4.1 Chapter Overview 147 4.2 Introduction 148 4.3 Classes of Spectroscopy 151 4.4 The Beer-Lambert Law 165 4.5 Impedance Spectroscopy 170 5 Electrochemical Principles and Electrode Reactions 177 5.1 Chapter Overview 177 5.2 Introduction 178 5.3 Electrochemical Cells and Electrode Reactions 180 5.4 Electrical Control of Electron Transfer Reactions 194 5.5 Reference Electrodes 203 5.6 Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) 208 6 Biosensors 215 6.1 Chapter Overview 215 6.2 Introduction 215 6.3 Immobilisation of the Biosensing Agent 217 6.4 Biosensor Parameters 218 6.5 Amperometric Biosensors 228 6.6 Potentiometric Biosensors 233 6.7 Conductometric and Impedimetric Biosensors 237 6.8 Sensors Based on Antibody–Antigen Interaction 240 6.9 Photometric Biosensors 242 6.10 Biomimetic Sensors 245 6.11 Glucose Sensors 247 6.12 Biocompatibility of Implantable Sensors 252 7 Basic Sensor Instrumentation and Electrochemical Sensor Interfaces 259 7.1 Chapter Overview 259 7.2 Transducer Basics 260 7.3 Sensor Amplification 262 7.4 The Operational Amplifier 264 7.5 Limitations of Operational Amplifiers 269 7.6 Instrumentation for Electrochemical Sensors 271 7.7 Impedance Based Biosensors 278 7.8 FET Based Biosensors 284 8 Instrumentation for Other Sensor Technologies 297 8.1 Chapter Overview 297 8.2 Temperature Sensors and Instrumentation 298 8.3 Mechanical Sensor Interfaces 304 8.4 Optical Biosensor Technology 325 8.5 Transducer Technology for Neuroscience and Medicine 335 9 Microfluidics: Basic Physics and Concepts 343 9.1 Chapter Overview 343 9.2 Liquids and Gases 343 9.3 Fluids Treated as a Continuum 346 9.4 Basic Fluidics 354 9.5 Fluid Dynamics 356 9.6 Navier-Stokes Equations 365 9.7 Continuum versus Molecular Model 369 9.8 Diffusion 378 9.9 Surface Tension 383 10 Microfluidics: Dimensional Analysis and Scaling 391 10.1 Chapter Overview 391 10.2 Dimensional Analysis 391 10.3 Dimensionless Parameters 400 10.4 Applying Nondimensional Parameters to Practical Flow Problems 411 10.5 Characteristic Time Scales 412 10.6 Applying Micro- and Nano-Physics to the Design of Microdevices 413 Problems 415 References 416 Appendix A: SI Prefixes 417 Appendix B: Values of Fundamental Physical Constants 419 Appendix C: Model Answers for Self-study Problems 421 Index 435