Screen-printed amperometric biosensors: A balancing act of manufacturing properties, cost efficiency and sensitivity

Amperometric sensors can be used for many applications, as they can be excellently manufactured in roll-to-roll printing processes. However, careful material selection is of particular importance for high sensitivity and selectivity. For example, the choice of the reference electrode material is critical to ensure a stable electrical potential, and the working electrode material needs to match the redox system used. For biosensor applications, the immobilization of the receptor molecules via printing technologies must be ensured, for which again the sensor materials significantly contribute. To illustrate these challenges, examples are presented for the detection of small molecules, proteins and DNA.