Nanotechnology Applications for Chemical and Biological Sensors

Abstract

Recent discoveries indicate that when the materials are brought down to sizes in the range 1–100 nm, theseexhibit unique electrical, optical, magnetic, chemical, and mechanical properties. Methods have now beenestablished to obtain the monodisperse nanocrystals of various metallic and semiconducting materials, single-walled and multi-walled nanotubes of carbon and other metallic and non-metallic materials together withorganic nanomaterials such as supra-molecular nanostructures, dendrimers, hybrid composites with tailoredfunctionalities. The high surface-to-volume ratio with an added element of porosity makes these highly potentialcandidates for chemical and biological sensor applications with higher degree of sensitivity and selectivity ascompared to their bulk counterparts. The paper reviews the recent developments and applications of chemicaland biological sensors based on nanomaterials of various structural forms. Defence Science Journal, 2008, 58(5), pp.636 -649 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.58.1686