Biosensors Based on the Binding Events of Nitrilotriacetic Acid-Metal Complexes.

Molecular immobilization and recognition are two key events for the development of biosensors. The general ways for the immobilization and recognition of biomolecules include covalent coupling reactions and non-covalent interactions of antigen-antibody, aptamer-target, glycan-lectin, avidin-biotin and boronic acid-diol. Tetradentate nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) is one of the most common commercial ligands for chelating metal ions.

Biosensors for the Detection of Enzymes Based on Aggregation-Induced Emission.

Enzymes play a critical role in most complex biochemical processes. Some of them can be regarded as biomarkers for disease diagnosis. Taking advantage of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based biosensors, a series of fluorogens with AIE characteristics (AIEgens) have been designed and synthesized for the detection and imaging of enzymes.