Biosensor Technology, 6 credits

Biosensorteknik, 6 hp

TFTB34

Main field of study

Engineering Biology Biomedical Engineering

Course level

Second cycle

Course type

Programme course

Examiner

Wing Cheung Mak

Director of studies or equivalent

Magnus Boman

Education components

Preliminary scheduled hours: 56 h
Recommended self-study hours: 104 h

Available for exchange students

Yes
ECV = Elective / Compulsory / Voluntary
Course offered for Semester Period Timetable module Language Campus ECV
6CKEB Chemical Biology, M Sc in Engineering (Protein Science and Technology) 8 (Spring 2018) 1 2 English Linköping, Valla C
6CTBI Engineering Biology, M Sc in Engineering (Devices and Materials in Biomedicine) 8 (Spring 2018) 1 2 English Linköping, Valla C

Main field of study

Engineering Biology, Biomedical Engineering

Course level

Second cycle

Advancement level

A1X

Course offered for

  • Chemical Biology, M Sc in Engineering
  • Engineering Biology, M Sc in Engineering

Entry requirements

Note: Admission requirements for non-programme students usually also include admission requirements for the programme and threshold requirements for progression within the programme, or corresponding.

Prerequisites

Molecular and surface physics (can be taken in parallel), Biochemistry, Microbiology with immunology

Intended learning outcomes

The course will give insights into the complexities involved in combining biological materials such as enzymes, antibodies and DNA with optical, electrochemical and other transducers to provide practical and easy-to-use systems. In order to integrate this knowledge and to introduce the importance of intellectual property protection, students will participate in practical classes and a group project on patent litigation at the end of the course.
The overall purpose of the course is to give the student a thorough understanding of the fundamentals and applications of biosensor technology together with an appreciation of its current and future impact on society.
Following the course, the student should be able to:

  • design and construct a simple biosensor,
  • use biosensors in the laboratory
  • explain how biosensors are constructed and manufactured
  • show how biosensors can be used to solve real analytical problems
  • reflect on the patenting and commercialisation of a biosensor

Course content

This course will provide a concise overview of biosensor technology and its application in healthcare, food safety, environmental monitoring and security. The lectures and practical exercises will focus on the construction, design and manufacture of biosensors, the principal and emerging materials and components used and three case studies of key devices. Lectures and a group project will examine some pivotal biosensor patents and an example of patent litigation. The course will conclude with a consideration of commercialisation routes, ethical issues and future perspectives.
Practical exercises will focus on enzyme electrodes, bioaffinity monitoring using two examples including the BIAcore and a site visit to see the printing facilities for biosensor production in Norrköping. The group project will study a patent litigation case and will culminate in a mock court battle.
The course will cover, an introduction to biosensors, applications of biosensors, transducers and sensor systems, bioreceptors and their immobilisation, synthetic receptors and nanomaterials for biosensors, design parameters for catalytic biosensors, design of affinity biosensors, microfluidics and arrays, glucose biosensors for diabetes, surface plasmon resonance for bioaffinity monitoring, electronic noses and tongues, patenting and litigation in the field of biosensors, commercialising biosensors, ethics and future prospects.

Teaching and working methods

Lectures, practical exercises and a group assignment.

Examination

LAB1Laboratory work1 creditsU, G
UPG1Project assignment1 creditsU, G
TEN2Oral or written examination4 creditsU, 3, 4, 5
The written examination will test the ability of the student to understand different biosensor technologies and concepts together with their practical application and commercialisation. During the practical laboratory exercises the student will be expected to construct and use enzyme electrodes for glucose measurement and to learn how to operate the BiaCore system for bioaffinity monitoring. The site visit will be used to assess observation skills and inquisitiveness. The group project will test the student’s ability to work as part of a team to analyse a specific biosensor technology in detail, to present technical and commercial arguments and to individually reflect on the outcome.

Grades

Four-grade scale, LiU, U, 3, 4, 5

Department

Institutionen för fysik, kemi och biologi

Director of Studies or equivalent

Magnus Boman

Examiner

Wing Cheung Mak

Course website and other links

http://www.ifm.liu.se/edu/coursescms/tftb34

Education components

Preliminary scheduled hours: 56 h
Recommended self-study hours: 104 h

Course literature

YouTube Video: Biosensors: An Introduction by Anthony Turner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KChAkSAizCw Turner, A.P.F. (2013). Biosensors: sense and sensibility. Chemical Society Reviews 42 (8), 3184-3196. OPEN ACCESS: http://xlink.rsc.org/?doi=C3CS35528D Newman, J.D. and Turner, A.P.F. (2005). Home blood glucose biosensors: a commercial perspective. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 20, 2435-2453. (available online in LiU) Handbook of Biosensors and Biochips; Robert S. Marks, Christopher R. Lowe, David C. Cullen, Howard H. Weetall, Isao Karube, (2007) Wiley (available as e-book in LiU) Chemical sensors and biosensors; Brian R. Eggins (2002) Wiley (available in LiU library) US Patent: 5,436,161 - Matrix coating for sensing surfaces capable of selective biomolecular interactions, to be used in biosensor systems. Biacore AB.: http://www.google.com/patents/US5436161?dq=Patent+US+5,436,161&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HSf5UZjuLYLPtAbzm4GQDg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA Reviews and articles in the Elsevier journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics (available online in LiU): www.elsevier.com/locate/bios Biosensors and Bioelectronics Centre website: www.ifm.liu.se/biosensors PDF files of lectures and accompanying material.
Code Name Scope Grading scale
LAB1 Laboratory work 1 credits U, G
UPG1 Project assignment 1 credits U, G
TEN2 Oral or written examination 4 credits U, 3, 4, 5
The written examination will test the ability of the student to understand different biosensor technologies and concepts together with their practical application and commercialisation. During the practical laboratory exercises the student will be expected to construct and use enzyme electrodes for glucose measurement and to learn how to operate the BiaCore system for bioaffinity monitoring. The site visit will be used to assess observation skills and inquisitiveness. The group project will test the student’s ability to work as part of a team to analyse a specific biosensor technology in detail, to present technical and commercial arguments and to individually reflect on the outcome.

Course syllabus

A syllabus has been established for each course. The syllabus specifies the aim and contents of the course, and the prior knowledge that a student must have in order to be able to benefit from the course.

Timetabling

Courses are timetabled after a decision has been made for this course concerning its assignment to a timetable module. A central timetable is not drawn up for courses with fewer than five participants. Most project courses do not have a central timetable.

Interrupting a course

The vice-chancellor’s decision concerning regulations for registration, deregistration and reporting results (Dnr LiU-2015-01241) states that interruptions in study are to be recorded in Ladok. Thus, all students who do not participate in a course for which they have registered must record the interruption, such that the registration on the course can be removed. Deregistration from a course is carried out using a web-based form: www.lith.liu.se/for-studenter/kurskomplettering?l=sv. 

Cancelled courses

Courses with few participants (fewer than 10) may be cancelled or organised in a manner that differs from that stated in the course syllabus. The board of studies is to deliberate and decide whether a course is to be cancelled or changed from the course syllabus. 

Regulations relating to examinations and examiners 

Details are given in a decision in the university’s rule book: http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622678.

Forms of examination

Examination

Written and oral examinations are held at least three times a year: once immediately after the end of the course, once in August, and once (usually) in one of the re-examination periods. Examinations held at other times are to follow a decision of the board of studies.

Principles for examination scheduling for courses that follow the study periods:

  • courses given in VT1 are examined for the first time in March, with re-examination in June and August
  • courses given in VT2 are examined for the first time in May, with re-examination in August and October
  • courses given in HT1 are examined for the first time in October, with re-examination in January and August
  • courses given in HT2 are examined for the first time in January, with re-examination at Easter and in August.

The examination schedule is based on the structure of timetable modules, but there may be deviations from this, mainly in the case of courses that are studied and examined for several programmes and in lower grades (i.e. 1 and 2). 

  • Examinations for courses that the board of studies has decided are to be held in alternate years are held only three times during the year in which the course is given.
  • Examinations for courses that are cancelled or rescheduled such that they are not given in one or several years are held three times during the year that immediately follows the course, with examination scheduling that corresponds to the scheduling that was in force before the course was cancelled or rescheduled.
  • If teaching is no longer given for a course, three examination occurrences are held during the immediately subsequent year, while examinations are at the same time held for any replacement course that is given, or alternatively in association with other re-examination opportunities. Furthermore, an examination is held on one further occasion during the next subsequent year, unless the board of studies determines otherwise.
  • If a course is given during several periods of the year (for programmes, or on different occasions for different programmes) the board or boards of studies determine together the scheduling and frequency of re-examination occasions.

Registration for examination

In order to take an examination, a student must register in advance at the Student Portal during the registration period, which opens 30 days before the date of the examination and closes 10 days before it. Candidates are informed of the location of the examination by email, four days in advance. Students who have not registered for an examination run the risk of being refused admittance to the examination, if space is not available.

Symbols used in the examination registration system:

  ** denotes that the examination is being given for the penultimate time.

  * denotes that the examination is being given for the last time.

Code of conduct for students during examinations

Details are given in a decision in the university’s rule book: http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622682.

Retakes for higher grade

Students at the Institute of Technology at LiU have the right to retake written examinations and computer-based examinations in an attempt to achieve a higher grade. This is valid for all examination components with code “TEN” and "DAT". The same right may not be exercised for other examination components, unless otherwise specified in the course syllabus.

Retakes of other forms of examination

Regulations concerning retakes of other forms of examination than written examinations and computer-based examinations are given in the LiU regulations for examinations and examiners, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622678.

Plagiarism

For examinations that involve the writing of reports, in cases in which it can be assumed that the student has had access to other sources (such as during project work, writing essays, etc.), the material submitted must be prepared in accordance with principles for acceptable practice when referring to sources (references or quotations for which the source is specified) when the text, images, ideas, data, etc. of other people are used. It is also to be made clear whether the author has reused his or her own text, images, ideas, data, etc. from previous examinations.

A failure to specify such sources may be regarded as attempted deception during examination.

Attempts to cheat

In the event of a suspected attempt by a student to cheat during an examination, or when study performance is to be assessed as specified in Chapter 10 of the Higher Education Ordinance, the examiner is to report this to the disciplinary board of the university. Possible consequences for the student are suspension from study and a formal warning. More information is available at https://www.student.liu.se/studenttjanster/lagar-regler-rattigheter?l=sv.

Grades

The grades that are preferably to be used are Fail (U), Pass (3), Pass not without distinction (4) and Pass with distinction (5). Courses under the auspices of the faculty board of the Faculty of Science and Engineering (Institute of Technology) are to be given special attention in this regard.

  1. Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for courses that have written examinations.
  2. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded for courses with a large degree of practical components such as laboratory work, project work and group work.

Examination components

  1. Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for written examinations (TEN).
  2. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are to be used for undergraduate projects and other independent work.
  3. Examination components for which the grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded are laboratory work (LAB), project work (PRA), preparatory written examination (KTR), oral examination (MUN), computer-based examination (DAT), home assignment (HEM), and assignment (UPG).
  4. Students receive grades either Fail (U) or Pass (G) for other examination components in which the examination criteria are satisfied principally through active attendance such as other examination (ANN), tutorial group (BAS) or examination item (MOM).

The examination results for a student are reported at the relevant department.

Regulations (apply to LiU in its entirety)

The university is a government agency whose operations are regulated by legislation and ordinances, which include the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance. In addition to legislation and ordinances, operations are subject to several policy documents. The Linköping University rule book collects currently valid decisions of a regulatory nature taken by the university board, the vice-chancellor and faculty/department boards.

LiU’s rule book for education at first-cycle and second-cycle levels is available at http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/Innehall/Utbildning_pa_grund-_och_avancerad_niva. 

YouTube Video: Biosensors: An Introduction by Anthony Turner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KChAkSAizCw Turner, A.P.F. (2013). Biosensors: sense and sensibility. Chemical Society Reviews 42 (8), 3184-3196. OPEN ACCESS: http://xlink.rsc.org/?doi=C3CS35528D Newman, J.D. and Turner, A.P.F. (2005). Home blood glucose biosensors: a commercial perspective. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 20, 2435-2453. (available online in LiU) Handbook of Biosensors and Biochips; Robert S. Marks, Christopher R. Lowe, David C. Cullen, Howard H. Weetall, Isao Karube, (2007) Wiley (available as e-book in LiU) Chemical sensors and biosensors; Brian R. Eggins (2002) Wiley (available in LiU library) US Patent: 5,436,161 - Matrix coating for sensing surfaces capable of selective biomolecular interactions, to be used in biosensor systems. Biacore AB.: http://www.google.com/patents/US5436161?dq=Patent+US+5,436,161&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HSf5UZjuLYLPtAbzm4GQDg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA Reviews and articles in the Elsevier journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics (available online in LiU): www.elsevier.com/locate/bios Biosensors and Bioelectronics Centre website: www.ifm.liu.se/biosensors PDF files of lectures and accompanying material.

Note: The course matrix might contain more information in Swedish.

I = Introduce, U = Teach, A = Utilize
I U A Modules Comment
1. DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE AND REASONING
1.1 Knowledge of underlying mathematics and science (G1X level)
X
LAB1
TEN2
UPG1

                            
1.2 Fundamental engineering knowledge (G1X level)
X
LAB1
TEN2
UPG1

                            
1.3 Further knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural science (G2X level)
X
LAB1
TEN2
UPG1

                            
1.4 Advanced knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural sciences (A1X level)

                            
1.5 Insight into current research and development work

                            
2. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
2.1 Analytical reasoning and problem solving
X
UPG1

                            
2.2 Experimentation, investigation, and knowledge discovery
X
LAB1

                            
2.3 System thinking
X

                            
2.4 Attitudes, thought, and learning
X
UPG1

                            
2.5 Ethics, equity, and other responsibilities

                            
3. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION
3.1 Teamwork
X
LAB1
UPG1

                            
3.2 Communications
X
LAB1
UPG1

                            
3.3 Communication in foreign languages
X
LAB1
TEN2
UPG1

                            
4. CONCEIVING, DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING AND OPERATING SYSTEMS IN THE ENTERPRISE, SOCIETAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT
4.1 External, societal, and environmental context

                            
4.2 Enterprise and business context
X
TEN2
UPG1

                            
4.3 Conceiving, system engineering and management
X

                            
4.4 Designing
X

                            
4.5 Implementing
X

                            
4.6 Operating

                            
5. PLANNING, EXECUTION AND PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITH RESPECT TO SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS
5.1 Societal conditions, including economic, social, and ecological aspects of sustainable development for knowledge development

                            
5.2 Economic conditions for knowledge development

                            
5.3 Identification of needs, structuring and planning of research or development projects

                            
5.4 Execution of research or development projects

                            
5.5 Presentation and evaluation of research or development projects

                            

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