Recent advances in carbon nanotube-based biosensors for biomolecular detection

Earlier studies have found a relationship between biomolecules in living organisms and diseases. The monitoring of abnormal physical conditions and the timely detection of diseases can reduce the mortality rate and ensure the physical health of organisms. Traditional laboratory methods for analyzing pathogenic factors usually require long time, high cost, and complex process. Biosensors can provide timely and accurate analysis of metabolites in the body to provide support for modern treatment. The unique physico-chemical and photoelectric properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can improve the performance of biosensors, such as the larger surface area for better catalyst fixation and the CNT-modified electrodes for faster electron transfer which provide more sensitive detection of biosensors. Typical applications of CNT-based sensors are described in detail in this article, including detections of glucose detection, DNA, protein, amino acids, and neurotransmitter. The detection performance of sensors can be improved through the continuous improvement of materials and structures. Finally, a summary and future outlook for CNT-based biosensors are provided.