Biosensors in Animal Biotechnology

Biosensors are amazing tools for analysis of biological or nonbiological systems using fundamental biomolecules such as enzymes, antibodies, proteins, or small metabolites. Biosensors have emerged as prominent tool for clinicians as well as researchers and remain essential components of several point-of-care devices, dipstick portable tests, and even research kits. Animal biotechnology, which deals with improving or using the animals and their parts such as cells or tissues for use of human betterment, and sometimes involves genetic manipulation, has great dependence on biosensors. Besides some of the very popular and successfully commercialized biosensors such as glucose biosensor, potentially new classes of biosensors are rapidly emerging, which are severalfold advanced in terms of their specificity, portability, and cost. Use of biosensors in animal biotechnology mainly involves detection of metabolites, biochemical assays, in particular related to cell death, cancer research, aging, etc. In this chapter, we will discuss basic details of biosensors, principle, types of existing biosensors, and emerging concepts with future scope of biosensors in animal biotechnology.