Biosensors Nanotechnology

5Bioreceptors for Affinity Binding in Theranostic Development

Tracy Ann Bruce-Tagoe¹, Jaison Jeevanandam² and Michael K. Danquah³*

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

² CQM - Centro de Química da Madeira, MMRG, Universidade da Madeira, Campus da Penteada, Funchal, Portugal

³ Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga TN, USA

Abstract

Scientists have labored to identify solutions for the effective detection of pathogens, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as quality assurance for several years. Recently, the advancement in theranostics has contributed immensely to the development in medical science and research field. This is evident in the ability to perform diagnosis and treatment simultaneously or successively, the ease with which viruses and bacteria are detected, and the speed with which point of care diagnosis are made. Nonetheless, any of these could not have been possible without the emergence of small biomolecules with excellent specificity, selectivity, and sensitivity toward their targets. These molecules are termed as bioreceptors, having a high binding affinity toward their targets. The applications of bioreceptors are numerous, ranging from bench top analysis to point-of-care diagnosis and treatment. Hence, this chapter is an overview of common bioreceptors, especially affinity-binding receptors, that are crucial ...