The Era of Biosensors and Diagnostics

Significant technological advances and biological discoveries over the past decades have enabled new medical approaches based on highly precise molecular measurements and personalized therapy. For example, the standard of care for monitoring cardiovascular status is based on routine measurements of cholesterol, lipoproteins, and triglycerides that, over periods of months or years, inform on atherosclerotic disease status. The use of nucleic acids amplification, sequencing, and analysis allows the highly confident diagnosis of infectious diseases. Well-established and high-throughput immunoassays offer the ability to study the development of immunity. Peptide, nucleic acid, and hybrid microarrays enable the study of proteomics and metabolomics at physiologically meaningful scales. Additionally, available platforms for continuous molecular measurements have also radically improved medical care, like in the case of managing Type 1 diabetes via the use of implantable continuous glucose sensors and wearable insulin pumps. Such translational successes– taking lab-based technology to improve real-world medical problems– are fueling growing research efforts to identify biomarkers and developing clinically meaningful biosensors and diagnostics. Based on this growth, I would argue that if the 2010s were the decade of gene editing, the 2020s could mark a new era for biosensors and diagnostics.

With the goal of providing an inclusive, open access forum for the publication of cutting-edge sensors research, ECS Sensors Plus was inaugurated in 2022 by The Electrochemical Society. The journal scope is inclusive, focusing broadly on sensors of all types, including optical, acoustic, electronic, bioelectronic, biological, and biochemical, to name a few. Recognizing that sensors require multidisciplinary efforts, the scope also includes research on electronics, functional and open access software, artificial intelligence, and numerical methods. However, given the demonstrated importance of biosensors and diagnostics to achieve better medical outcomes, in this Editorial I want to highlight the journal as an ideal venue for publishing developments in these areas. We started strong in our first year with a total of 46 publications across all topics, leading to 35,345 downloads and 928 citations. Recently published articles included original research on the disinfection of nucleic acid-based sensors (DOI: 10.1149/2754–2726/ac60b2), the effect of gold coatings on diode-type hydrogen sensors (DOI: 10.1149/2754–2726/ac5b9f), and nanobody-based electrochemical sensors (DOI: 10.1149/2754–2726/ac5b2e). We also published excellent reviews on 3D printing for sensing applications (DOI: 10.1149/2754–2726/ac5c7a) and artificial intelligence-driven development of two-dimensional materials for sensing (DOI: 10.1149/2754–2726/ac5ac6). As we grow in numbers and impact, I invite all our readers to join the ECS Sensors Plus community and contribute with some of your best work.

As the newly appointed Technical Editor for ECS Sensors Plus, I look forward to serving our community and setting a strong tone for diversity, equity, inclusion, and innovation. My background is in fundamental electrochemistry. However, I was academically raised by excellent mentors (Allen J. Bard at UT Austin and Kevin W. Plaxco at UCSB) to solve problems with a global, all-encompassing scientific approach. My current research focuses on the development of real-time continuous molecular monitors for biomedical research and clinical applications. We do work in vitro at the bench, translational research using animal models when justified, and platform validations on clinical samples. Given that my current academic appointment is in pharmacology, I carry a multidisciplinary research vision and the understanding that, to advance sensor technologies, we must think holistically about all aspects of the development pipeline, with a heavy focus on their application. Following this vision, I am confident I can help grow this journal into a comprehensive venue for transformative biosensors and diagnostics research.

Our editorial strategy going into 2023 is to continue to invite emerging and established leaders in sensors to share their perspectives and technical results with us. However, all submissions are welcome. Additionally, the editorial team (including me) will be happy to discuss review ideas or manuscript scope with authors. We are committed to offering competitive turnaround periods for manuscript processing and outcomes. Finally, I would like to highlight that the journal is open access and free of publication fees this year. I encourage our community members to take advantage of this venue to submit your best work.

I look forward to serving you throughout the editorial process.

Kindly,

Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás, Technical Editor

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

https://orcid.org/0000–0002–2740–6276

Notes: Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of The Electrochemical Society.