Biosensors are analytical tools that combine the specific recognition capabilities of biological recognition elements (such as enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids, cells, etc.) with physical or chemical signal conversion technologies to detect target substances (such as molecules, cells, pathogens, etc.). The core principle is to convert biochemical signals into quantifiable electrical signals, optical signals, thermal signals, or mechanical signals through the specific interactions (such as binding, catalytic reactions, signal transduction, etc.) between the biological recognition elements and the substances to be tested, ultimately achieving qualitative and quantitative analysis or real-time monitoring of target substances through a signal processing system.
Biosensors can be classified based on the biological recognition elements, signal processing elements, and the characteristics of the target substance reactions:
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Classification Basis |
Category |
Typical Applications |
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Biological Recognition Element |
Enzyme Biosensor |
Blood glucose monitoring (glucometer), detection of phenolic pollutants in water quality |
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Microbial Sensor |
Detection of BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) in water quality, monitoring of fermentation processes (e.g., ethanol production) |
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Cell Biosensor |
Drug toxicity screening (hepatocyte response), neurotransmitter detection (neuron electrical signals) |
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Nucleic Acid Biosensor |
Detection of COVID-19 RNA, genetic disease gene diagnosis |
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Immuno Biosensor |
Rapid detection of COVID-19 antigens, screening of cancer markers (e.g., CEA, AFP) |
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Signal Processing Element |
Electrochemical Biosensor |
Glucometer (current method for glucose detection), lactate sensor |
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Magnetic Sensor |
Cell sorting (magnetic bead labeling), pathogen magnetic nanoparticle detection |
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Thermal Sensor |
Enzyme activity determination, microbial metabolic heat detection |
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Piezoelectric Crystal Biosensor |
Detection of viral particles (e.g., influenza virus), protein interaction analysis |
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Optical Biosensor |
Fluorescent immunodetection (e.g., COVID-19 antibody detection), DNA sequencer |
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Characteristics of the Target Substance Reaction |
Affinity Biosensor |
Immunosensor, nucleic acid sensor (e.g., SPR immunosensor) |
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Metabolic Biosensor |
Cell sensor, tissue sensor (e.g., hepatocyte metabolic toxicity detection) |
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Catalytic Biosensor |
Enzyme sensor, microbial sensor (e.g., glucose oxidase sensor) |
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Competitive Reaction Type Biosensor |
Quantitative analysis of ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) |
Source: Public information
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Industry Chain |
Main Content |
Value Characteristics |
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Upstream |
Mainly includes biological recognition elements (such as enzymes, antibodies, antigens, microorganisms, cells, tissues, nucleic acids, etc.) and signal transducers, as well as production equipment and non-biological materials (mainly gallium nitride, piezoelectric crystals, etc.) |
–Core link, determining the types of biological species detected and accuracy –Upstream raw materials involve core technologies and patented products, high value and cost, high gross profit margin –Foreign capital dominates the domestic high-end market, slow domestic transformation, concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Guangdong |
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Midstream |
Mass manufacturing of biosensors, mainly including production, assembly, and packaging testing |
–Value and profit depend on the innovation of the product itself, production efficiency, and quality control –Gross profit margin is lower than upstream (domestic about 50%, international giants 55% to 65%) |
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Downstream |
Medical health, environmental monitoring, food safety, consumer electronics, etc. application fields |
–Connecting terminal demand, new technologies, industries, and models bring opportunities |
Source: Shengbang Investment WeChat Official Account “Shengbang Research | The Future of Biosensors”, public information
Biosensors have penetrated various fields of medical testing, including diabetes monitoring, infectious microorganism detection, drug sensitivity testing, genetic disease detection, early cancer diagnosis, cardiovascular disease detection, and pharmacogenomics.
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Application Fields |
Examples |
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Early Cancer Diagnosis |
Biosensor technology can achieve early cancer screening by detecting specific tumor markers. By introducing various types of microfluidic biosensors, rapid and sensitive detection of circulating tumor cells, extracellular vesicles, nucleic acids, proteins, and other cancer biomarkers can be achieved.. For example: Exosome analysis, liquid biopsy |
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Chronic Disease Real-time Dynamic Monitoring |
Traditional blood glucose testing methods mainly rely on fingertip blood sampling and test strips, which have drawbacks such as high invasiveness and limited testing frequency. The introduction of biosensor technology has brought a new solution for diabetes management, especially with the emergence of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) systems, which enable real-time dynamic monitoring of blood glucose levels.(CGM) has enabled real-time dynamic monitoring of blood glucose levels. Others include: Flexible electronic skin sensors for cardiovascular monitoring, sensors based on molecularly imprinted polymers for home urine monitoring devices, etc. |
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Rapid Screening and Drug Resistance Detection of Infectious Diseases |
For example, the combination of biosensors, CRISPR-Cas technology, and microfluidic systems in the SHERLOCK system has become an important tool for infectious disease detection, enabling the detection and typing of pathogens such as COVID-19, influenza virus, malaria, HIV, and Ebola virus, and gradually being applied to the detection of foodborne diseases such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria; functional detection sensors based on drug-resistant enzyme activity and nucleic acid detectors have significantly improved speed, detection throughput, and portability compared to traditional drug sensitivity testing. |
Source: Biological Diagnostics WeChat Official Account “Biosensors: Miniature Detectives in Rapid Disease Detection”
According to the latest data released by the CCID Research Institute, in 2023, the global sensor market size is expected to reach 1,397.1 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%. Among them, the size of the Chinese sensor market reached 364.4 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%, and in the segmented market, the sales of biosensors reached 27.34 billion RMB, accounting for 7.5%.
According to a report by Zhiyan Consulting, in 2023, the demand for biosensors in China is approximately 81.476 million units.
The medical health industry is the main application field for biosensors, playing an important role in early diagnosis of diseases, real-time monitoring, and evaluation of treatment effects, with representative products such as glucometers, which utilize the principles of biosensors to convert the glucose concentration in blood into electrical signals, which are then processed and interpreted by electronic devices to ultimately display the blood glucose value. According to a report by Huajing Intelligence Network, in 2023, the market size for glucometers in China is approximately 6.73 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 16.84%.
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Company Name |
Company Profile |
Product Profile |
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Sinocare (300298) |
Founded in 2002, dedicated to the research, production, and sales of rapid detection products for chronic diseases using biosensor technology, a leading enterprise in the domestic blood glucose monitoring field |
Mainly focuses on blood glucose monitoring, with its glucometer consistently ranking first in the domestic retail market |
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Shenzhen Xierman Technology Co., Ltd. |
Founded in 2016, dedicated to providing stable and reliable biological culture instruments and monitoring equipment for biological culture processes |
Core products include theM-100 series fully automatic biosensor analyzers, S-10 series semi-automatic biosensor analyzers (biochemical analysis instruments), etc. |
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Shengmeidino Medical Technology (Huzhou) Co., Ltd. |
Founded in 2003, a leading manufacturer of continuous dynamic blood glucose monitoring devices (CGM) in China |
CGM – S203, CGM – 303 and other products, all consist of disposable dynamic glucose sensors, wireless transmitters, user analysis software, etc. |
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Shenzhen Refresh Biosensor Technology Co., Ltd. |
Founded in 2016, based on biomolecular signal processing chips, building a research, manufacturing, and application system platform for biosensors, focusing on wearable, miniaturized, and portable smart biosensors |
Brush Core® Smart Sweat Analyzer (non-invasive wearable device, using finely processed replaceable microfluidic biosensors), Brush Core® CGM Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (miniature electrochemical sensor) |
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Beijing Yicheng Bioelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. |
Founded in 1993, focusing on the research, production, and sales of rapid detection products for in vitro diagnosis related to diabetes and its complications (including instruments and in vitro diagnostic reagents) |
Utilizing electrochemical biosensor technology, immuno-labeling chromatography technology, and human physiological detection technology, forming a rich product line centered on blood glucose monitoring systems, with blood ketone testing, blood uric acid testing, urine microalbumin testing, and card-type ECG monitors as auxiliary products |
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Huili Biotechnology (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. |
Founded in 2023, focusing on the field of electrochemical biosensors |
Utilizing vacuum coating technology, building a universal technology platform, independently developing and producing high-precision precious metal biosensors, with products mainly applied in medical health, food safety, environmental protection, etc., currently trial-selling to several leading in vitro diagnostic enterprises |
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Shanghai Silim Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. |
Founded in 2011, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhaoyi Innovation (603986), focusing on the development of biosensor SoC chips and solutions |
Providing embedded biometric sensor chips, capacitive, ultrasonic, optical fingerprint recognition chips, and self-capacitance, mutual capacitance touch screen control chips |
(1)Technological Innovation Leads to Performance Leap
1.Multidisciplinary Fusion Innovation
The development of biosensor technology is accelerating towards multidisciplinary fusion. The deep integration of cutting-edge technologies such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technology with biosensor technology brings new opportunities for performance enhancement and application expansion. The application of nanotechnology can significantly improve the accuracy and sensitivity of biosensors. For example, using nanomaterials to prepare biological recognition elements can increase their specific surface area and enhance interactions with the substances to be tested, thus enabling the detection of trace substances. Bioinformatics technology helps in the efficient processing and analysis of biosensor data, allowing for rapid and accurate interpretation of complex biological signals collected by sensors, providing more precise decision-making support for disease diagnosis, environmental monitoring, etc. At the same time, multidisciplinary fusion also promotes the development of new types of biosensors, such as biosensors based on quantum dot technology, which combine the unique optical properties of quantum dots with biological molecular recognition functions, offering higher fluorescence stability and detection specificity.
2.Miniaturization, Portability, and Integration
With the growing demand for convenient and real-time detection, biosensors are developing towards miniaturization, portability, and integration. Miniaturization and portability make biosensors more convenient for applications in home health monitoring, on-site environmental testing, mobile healthcare, and other scenarios. For example, wearable biosensors can monitor physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation in real-time, providing convenience for personal health management. These sensors are compact and can be integrated into smart bracelets, watches, patches, and other devices without affecting users’ daily activities. Integration involves combining multiple biosensors along with signal processing, data transmission, and other functional modules into a single small chip or device, enabling simultaneous detection and comprehensive analysis of multiple biological substances or parameters. For instance, integrating various biosensors for blood glucose, blood lipids, uric acid, etc., into a portable testing device allows patients to complete multiple health indicator tests at home at once, greatly improving testing efficiency and convenience.
3.Intelligence and Remote Monitoring
Intelligence and remote monitoring are important trends in the development of biosensor technology. By integrating with technologies such as the Internet of Things and cloud computing, biosensors can achieve real-time data collection, transmission, and analysis, and make intelligent decisions based on preset algorithms and models. In the medical field, intelligent biosensors can monitor patients’ health status in real-time, and once abnormalities are detected, they can promptly send warning messages to patients and doctors, enabling remote medical diagnosis and health management. For example, in chronic disease management, patients wearing intelligent biosensors allow doctors to understand changes in patients’ conditions in real-time through remote terminals, enabling timely adjustments to treatment plans. In environmental monitoring, intelligent biosensor networks can monitor environmental parameters in real-time, predicting environmental pollution trends through data analysis, providing support for environmental protection decisions. Additionally, intelligence is reflected in biosensors’ ability to automatically adjust detection parameters and sensitivity based on environmental changes, improving detection accuracy and adaptability.
(2)Continuous Expansion and Deepening of Application Fields
1.Medical Health Field Moving Towards Precision and Personalization
In the medical health field, biosensors will develop towards greater precision and personalization. On one hand, biosensors used for early disease diagnosis will continuously improve detection sensitivity and specificity, enabling earlier and more accurate detection of disease-related biomarkers, achieving early warning and intervention for diseases. For example, by detecting trace tumor markers, gene mutations, etc., in blood, urine, or saliva, biosensors can identify lesions in major diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases at early stages, significantly improving cure rates and patient survival rates. On the other hand, wearable and implantable biosensors will further develop to achieve real-time, continuous monitoring of physiological parameters, providing comprehensive data support for personalized medical care and health management. In the future, wearable biosensors may not only be limited to monitoring basic physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation but also detect more biomarkers such as blood glucose, blood lipids, hormone levels, and immune indicators, providing users with personalized health assessments, exercise recommendations, dietary guidance, and disease prevention plans through comprehensive analysis of these multidimensional physiological data. Implantable biosensors can monitor organ function, tissue metabolism, and other conditions in real-time, providing precise feedback information for disease treatment and rehabilitation, such as implantable glucose sensors for diabetes treatment that can monitor blood glucose levels in real-time and automatically adjust insulin release based on blood glucose changes, achieving precise blood glucose control.
2.Environmental Monitoring Achieving Real-time and Comprehensive Perception
With the continuous improvement of people’s awareness of environmental protection, biosensors will play an increasingly important role in environmental monitoring, achieving real-time and comprehensive perception of environmental pollutants. Biosensors can quickly and accurately detect various pollutants in water, air, and soil, such as heavy metal ions, organic pollutants, microorganisms, pathogens, etc., providing scientific basis for environmental quality assessment, pollution warning, and remediation. In the future, biosensors will develop towards networking and intelligence, constructing large-scale environmental biosensor monitoring networks to achieve comprehensive and real-time monitoring of different regions and environmental media. These sensor networks can transmit collected environmental data in real-time to data centers, dynamically assessing and predicting environmental quality conditions through big data analysis and artificial intelligence algorithms, promptly detecting environmental pollution events, and providing precise support for environmental governance decisions. For example, in water quality monitoring, a water quality monitoring network constructed using biosensors can monitor changes in dissolved oxygen, pH, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, and concentrations of various heavy metals and organic pollutants in rivers, lakes, and oceans in real-time, and once abnormal water quality is detected, it can promptly issue warning signals, providing timely and effective information for water resource protection and pollution control.
3.Food Safety Assurance Moving Towards Rapid and On-site Detection
Food safety is an important issue related to the health and safety of the public, and biosensors have broad application prospects in food safety testing. In the future, biosensors will focus on achieving rapid and on-site detection of harmful substances in food, improving the efficiency and convenience of food safety testing. By combining biosensors with microfluidic chips, portable testing devices, and other technologies, small and portable food safety testing instruments can be developed to achieve rapid screening and quantitative detection of harmful substances such as pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, microbial contamination, and biotoxins in food. For example, portable pesticide residue detection devices based on immunosensors can detect pesticide residues in food samples within minutes, without the need for complex sample pretreatment and specialized laboratory equipment, and can be widely used in agricultural production bases, farmers’ markets, food processing enterprises, etc., providing strong technical support for food safety supervision. Additionally, biosensors will also play an important role in food quality control and food traceability, monitoring and detecting biological markers throughout the entire process of food production, processing, transportation, and sales, achieving full traceability and control of food quality and safety.
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