(93a) Toxins and Pollutants Detection On Biosensor Surfaces

A fractal analysis is presented for the binding and dissociation (if applicable) of toxins and pollutants in solution to appropriate receptors immobilized on biosensor surfaces. The dual-fractal analysis is used only when the single-fractal analysis did not provide an adequate fit. This was done by the regression analysis provided by Corel Quatrro Pro 8.0. The fractal analysis is used to analyze the binding and dissociation (if applicable) kinetics of (a) the binding (dose-response) of different concentrations (in mM) of phenol in solution to cells immobilized on a bio-MEMS based cell-chip (Yoo et al., 2007), (b) binding and dissociation of 0.99 mM hydrogen peroxide mixed wirh GC2 (E. coli strain) immobilized micro-cel;l chip (Yoo et al., 2007), (c) binding of catechol to bentonite-vanadium (V) oxide xerogels (Anaissi and Toma, 2005), and binding of SEB (Staphylococcal Enetreotoxin B) in solution to antibody-functionalized microbeads on a sensor chip (Haes et al., 2006). Other systems analyzed include (a) deteterminations of cancer biomarkers in serum and saliva using quantum dot bioconjugate labels (Jokers et al., 2009), (b) carbon nanofiber paste electrode nonenzymatic glucose sensor (Liu et al, 2009), and (c) nanotube-based biosensor for the detection of disease-specific autoantibodies in human serum (Drouvalakis et al., 2008). The fractal analysis is used to provide a better understanding of the kinetics of reactions (involving pollutants and toxins in solution, including disease biomarkers), and to relate the binding and dissociation rate coefficients with the fractal dimension or the degree of heterogeneity that exists on the sensor chip surface. The fractal analysis provides a quantitative indication of the state of disorder (fractal dimension) and the binding (and dissociation) rate coefficient values. Pollution is a serious problem, and the early detection of different types of toxins and pollutants will go a long way to suppress the different diseases caused by them, alongwith the other diseases that they may be indirectly involved in. Also, in a similar vein, the early detection of diseases (perhaps using biomarkers) will lead to a better prognosis of different diseases.