Application of Functionalized Graphene Oxide Based Biosensors for Health Monitoring: Simple Graphene Derivatives to 3D Printed Platforms

Abstract

Biosensors hold great potential for revolutionizing personalized medicine and environmental monitoring. Their construction is the key factor which depends on either manufacturing techniques or robust sensing materials to improve efficacy of the device. Functional graphene is an attractive choice for transducing material due to its various advantages in interfacing with biorecognition elements. Graphene and its derivatives such as graphene oxide (GO) are thus being used extensively for biosensors for monitoring of diseases. In addition, graphene can be patterned to a variety of structures and is incorporated into biosensor devices such as microfluidic devices and electrochemical and plasmonic sensors. Among biosensing materials, GO is gaining much attention due to its easy synthesis process and patternable features, high functionality, and high electron transfer properties with a large surface area leading to sensitive point-of-use applications. Considering demand and recent challenges, this perspective review is an attempt to describe state-of-the-art biosensors based on functional graphene. Special emphasis is given to elucidating the mechanism of sensing while discussing different applications. Further, we describe the future prospects of functional GO-based biosensors for health care and environmental monitoring with a focus on additive manufacturing such as 3D printing.