Increasing use of Wearable Biosensors for Real-Time, Accurate Healthcare Monitoring will Drive the Biosensors Market Growth

Market Insights:

Biosensors are analytical devices that can detect the concentration or presence of biological analytes, microorganisms, or biological structures. Biosensors have numerous applications in industries, such as medical, food, and agriculture, among others. They have also found a vital place in COVID-19 diagnosis. SD Biosensor’s STANDARD Q COVID-19 IgM/IgG Duo Test Kit for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 in humoral fluid received EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) from the US FDA in April. The company has also co-developed a SARS-CoV-2 point-of-care (PoC) antigen test with Roche Diagnostics.

A potential cross-industry application that would boost both the biosensors and the wearable devices markets in the following years is the increasing use of wearable biosensors for real-time, accurate healthcare monitoring. A biosensor that can be printed directly on the skin has recently been created by a team of researchers headed by Penn State University’s Larry (Huanyu) Cheng, the most interesting use of which would possibly be for diagnosing COVID-19. The leading companies in the biosensors sphere include Abbott Laboratories, Molecular Devices Corporation, Biosensors International, Bio-Rad International, DowDuPont Inc., Pinnacle Technology, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Siemens Healthineers, TE Connectivity Corporation, and Roche Diagnostics. Both companies and scientists have been exploring the uses of biosensors, and recent years have seen rapid development on the research front.

In a major breakthrough, researchers from the  University of Virginia School of Medicine have developed a simple improvement to fluorescent biosensors prevalent in both medical and scientific research, making it easy for scientists to study biological processes, develop new treatments, explore the happenings within individual cells, and solve other problems connected to different diseases. The biosensors can detect individual targets inside a cell and illuminates them, allowing scientists to monitor and measure biological occurrences that have otherwise been impossible. Researchers Shen Zhang and Hui-wang Ai found that adding 3-aminotyrosine turned the green biosensor red, as explained in the research paper published earlier this month. They tested their enhanced biosensor on insulin-making cells in the pancreas and were able to track the effect of high levels of glucose on the cells.

This week, a team from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Duke University has fabricated a novel type of genetically-encoded neural biosensor operating in near-infrared light. The biosensor will help in the non-invasive study of neuron firing at deeper levels in a living brain while tracking the oxygen consumption. The researchers hope that these near-infrared biosensors will become key molecular tools to be used in animal models of human diseases and cognitive neuroscience research, which will help scientists see the mechanisms of different behavioral and emotional regulation in the brain. These developments and the subsequent advancements in the application of biosensors would be a significant driver for the growth of the biosensors market in the following years.

Increasing Investment in the Study of Patterned or Organized Molecular Films to Propel Nanofilms Industry Growth

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Nanofilms can be described as thin layers of material, with thickness ranging between a fraction of a nanometer and several micrometers. These films are an atomic-thick frontier with their surroundings, where most of the physicochemical processes take place. The largest class of these nanofilms comprise of a stack of multiple layers that have opposite charge, wherein the states’ density is restricted to a 2D arrangement, and quantum coupling among multiple layers moderate the properties of the assembled multilayer. The most prominent method to deposit functional thin films is the layer-on-layer deposition. Several approaches to deposit single layers include spin coating, immersion, electromagnetic deposition, spraying, and fluidic assembly.

Nanofilms Market

The market growth is being propelled by the increasing investment in the study of patterned or organized molecular films in nanostructures by looking at the assembly of quantum dots measured in nanometers. There are a plethora of new projects exploring the different applications of this technology for different purposes by both academia as well as companies, which would widen the application scope of nanofilms further, simultaneously boosting market growth and expansion. For instance, a group of material scientists from the National University of Science and Technology MISiS has used boron nitride to create antibacterial nano-coatings that work efficiently against microbial pathogens. They might become a safe alternative to antibiotics typically used in implantology as they have no side effects. Researchers from the University of Houston have recently introduced a medical robotic hand made with stretchable semiconducting nanofilms that can allow medical professionals to diagnose and treat patients remotely, with optimal accuracy and a diminished margin of human error. Hybrid nanofilms might be a crucial addition as topical anesthetics to dentistry procedures to make them pain-free.

Some of the leading players in the industry are Nanofilm, Nano Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd., Cosmo Films Limited, Nano Foam Technology Private Limited, Cosmo Films Ltd Smart Source Technologies, Advanced Thin Film, MetaTechnica, NanoGram Corporation, Maxtek Technology, MetaTechnica, and Nano Labs. In recent years, the nanofilms market has witnessed established companies investing in keeping up with the evolution in the technology and newer players emerging with innovative products that broaden the scope of its applications. 

In April, earlier this year, Peak Nanosystems LLC, a Coppell-based start-up working with nanotech, closed its Series C round with funds amounting to USD 25 Million from Connecticut-based Squadron Capital. The company planned to allocate the funds towards acquiring PolymerPlus, an Ohio-based Multilayered Polymer Products & Research Company, and expanding its own in-house optical product development. PolymerPlus has developed technology for film capacitors and optics, which can be launched next year. By acquiring the company, Peak Nanosystems acquired the rights to this particular tech and the IP on board nanolayered film that has been fabricated at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.