Foreword

Recently, there has been a tremendous surge in the research and development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, especially in precisely engineering the size, shape, and composition. A plethora of novel nanomaterials have been developed that possess excellent intrinsic properties of absorbance, fluorescence, chemiluminescence and catalysis. These properties are being harnessed to realize the actual potential of nanotechnology for several applications, such as electronics, optical, nanomedicine, drug delivery, catalysis and biosensing. The use of nanomaterials in developing biosensors holds special promise due to their indispensable role in clinical diagnosis, biomolecule engineering, cancer detection, and sensing of bacteria, viruses, pathogens, and toxic metabolites. Additionally, incorporating suitable nanoparticles has also led to the construction of new biosensors with improved detection ability and ease of handling. Signal transduction-based biosensing technologies incorporating nanoparticles have shown their utility for the multiplexed detection of samples available in extremely low concentrations. Although nanotechnology-based biosensing employs several methodologies, several of these could be merged into the form of a portable “lab-on-a-chip” device that would be capable of running multiple analyses. The readout of such devices could be integrated with cell phones and thus shared with doctors and clinicians. Personalized medicine is another emerging area where nanotechnology could be of tremendous application. Nanotechnology-enabled wearable devices are another such kind that could provide the analysis of essential ions, biomarkers, glucose, and other biomolecules in the blood. The obtained database would be recorded on a microchip, which could be shared as and when required. Such innovations are expected to be an integral part of the future biosensing technologies that would better predict an individual's health state. Considering the above discussion on biosensing, this book is very timely and includes relevant background and the most recent advancements in the field. Graphene and carbon-based nanomaterials produce excellent biosensing platforms; therefore, a comprehensive analysis of their applications has been covered in this book. Other areas, such as heavy metal detection from contaminated wastewater and COVID-19 detection using nanotechnologies, have also been given significant attention. Nutrition, food contamination, and food packaging are other growing areas; producing nanotechnology-based innovations has also found a place in this book. A chapter is also dedicated to the role of biosensing technology in tissue engineering. This book is a must-read for researchers engaged in basic and clinical research related to biosensing technologies. The editors of this book are learned academicians and have produced this book very thoughtfully to provide readers with comprehensive information on biosensor technologies.