Active research is going on developing nanomaterial
enabled pathogen sensors. These sensors usually consist of
three major components: recognition agents, nanomaterials,
and a signal transduction mechanism (Vikesland and
Wigginton, 2010). Recognition agents that specifically
interact with antigens or other epitopes on the pathogen
surface provide the selectivity. Sensitivity and fast response
are achieved by the nanomaterial related signal transduction
upon the recognition event. A wide range of recognition
agents have been utilized, including antibodies, aptamers,
carbohydrates, and antimicrobial peptides (Vikesland and
Wigginton, 2010). Nanomaterials improve the sensitivity and
speed of detection and achieve multiplex target detection
owing to their unique physicochemical properties, especially
electrochemical, optical, and magnetic properties. These
sensors can be employed to detect whole cells (Vikesland and
Wigginton, 2010) as well as biomolecules (Theron et al., 2010).