Layer-by-Layer Technology and Its Implications in the Field of Glucose Nanobiosensors

Abstract

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of deaths in the US with almost 439 million people worldwide expected to be diabetic by 2030. The need for continuous, non-invasive monitoring is a top priority. Earlier devices that utilized electroenzymatic sensing technique were minimally invasive and had major pitfalls. Advancements in various non-invasive, especially fluorescence-based, sensing along with developments in LBL assembly have resulted in a new breed of micro/nanosensors that are implantable, reliable, reproducible, mechanically and functionally stable, responsive, and miniaturized. In this chapter, the authors discuss the history of glucose sensors, evolution over the past four decades, methods employed to detect glucose levels in fluorescent biosensors, and assays that can be fabricated on to the sensor membrane, immobilized into the membrane as multilayers, or encapsulated within micro/nanocapsules using LBL assembly technology. The authors briefly review the various materials available and currently implemented for fabrication of glucose biosensors using LBL assembly.