Underhyped Tech - Artificial Biosensors

Published on: 31 Mar

Written By Frontier Tech Hub

This is a deep dive into one of our nine underhyped frontier technologies for development.
The full exploration will be released on April 23rd. Sign up to the launch event here.

Detecting risks using durable, reusable sensors where traditional biosensors fail

Artificial biosensors are helping us detect risk in places where traditional tools can’t go. Built from smart materials rather than living cells, they’re stable, reusable, and designed to work in tough environments—from polluted rivers to remote clinics.

These sensors can track everything from water contamination to health markers, offering real-time insights without needing expensive labs or fragile equipment. While still emerging, especially in low-resource settings, their potential is wide-reaching.

  • Artificial biosensors are intelligent devices designed to detect harmful substances in the environment, food, or human body. They mimic the way natural organisms identify chemicals but do not rely on living cells.

    These biosensors use special materials that react to specific substances, like pollution in water, bacteria in food, or health markers in the body. They then convert this reaction into a signal that can be easily measured, using electronics or light-based detection methods.

    Unlike traditional biosensors that rely on biological elements like bacteria or enzymes, artificial biosensors are more stable, reusable, and reliable, even in extreme conditions.

  • Environmental monitoring: Artificial biosensors provide essential pollutant detection capabilities in water and soil systems, particularly in regions with weak environmental regulations.

    Accessible healthcare: The advent of affordable, scalable diagnostic tools facilitates decentralised medical services, significantly reducing reliance on costly laboratory infrastructure in remote and underserved communities

    Food and water security: Biosensor applications in agriculture and resource safety deliver effective monitoring of contaminants throughout food production and water supply chains, substantially mitigating public health risks that enhance soil health and crop yields, promoting regenerative farming.

  • While artificial biosensors are already in use in laboratory and industrial settings, field deployment in resource-constrained environments remains limited due to infrastructure requirements, particularly in the Global South

    • Intelligent Monitoring Capabilities: AI-enhanced biosensors offer superior predictive analytics and real-time monitoring, creating powerful tools across medical, environmental, and industrial sectors.

    • Democratised Production: Breakthroughs in biomaterials and 3D printing technologies facilitate cost-effective, locally manufactured biosensors, making advanced health monitoring increasingly viable for resource-limited regions.

    • Wearable biosensors: Enable low-cost, real-time health monitoring​.

    • Programmable bioelectronics: They integrate synthetic biology with biodegradable, flexible, and printable sensors, supporting sustainable applications

    • Scalability & Affordability: Despite long-term benefits, advanced artificial biosensor technologies remain expensive and require specialised manufacturing processes.​

    • Data Privacy & Ownership: AI-integrated biosensors collect vast amounts of sensitive data, raising ethical concerns on data governance.

    • Biocompatibility & Safety: Synthetic biological components may pose risks if not properly regulated, especially in medical applications​.

    • Potential for Technological Dependence: Excessive reliance on imported biosensors may hinder local innovation and technological sovereignty.

    • Technical limitations: Sensitivity and specificity vary depending on environmental conditions and manufacturing quality.

    • Waste management: Single-use biosensors contribute to electronic waste if not properly designed for biodegradability or reparability.

    • Potential for misuse, especially in bio-surveillance or unintended applications​.

    • Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials: The use of nanomaterials like graphene, conductive hydrogels, and bioelectronic interfaces enhances performance​.

    • AI & Machine Learning: Enhances biosensor accuracy and predictive capabilities​.

    • Public Health Initiatives: Government support for biosensors in disease control (e.g., real-time pathogen monitoring)​ fosters adoption.

    • Open-source biosensor designs: DIY biosensing kits and open-source platforms reduce costs and enable local manufacturing and adaptation to local needs.

    • Advances in synthetic biology: Allowing programmable biosensors tailored to specific local challenges​.

    • Limited Funding & Policy Support: Most biosensor research is concentrated in high-income countries, with little investment in the Global South.

    • Lack of Technical Expertise: Skills gap in biosensor manufacturing and AI integration in low-resource settings​.

    • Power & Connectivity Challenges: Many biosensors require a stable electricity supply and internet access, both of which remain unreliable in many rural areas.

    • Supply Chain Challenges: Some advanced biosensors depend on rare or costly materials that may not be easily sourced in the Global South​.

    • Regulatory Challenges: Lack of clear policies for approving and integrating artificial biosensors into health and environmental monitoring systems​.

    • Legal and Commercial Access: Patent restrictions may limit widespread adoption in low-income countries.

    • Limited Field Deployment: Most artificial biosensors are still in early-stage research or confined to controlled environments​.

Curious examples: what’s already happening?

Case Study no. 1

Deployable Microbial Biosensors for Real-Time Water Monitoring - Review

  • Current water quality monitoring technologies are expensive, laboratory-based, and slow, limiting real-time environmental assessment. Traditional chemical sensors struggle with detecting complex pollutants in aquatic environments while existing biosensors are too bulky and costly for field deployment.

  • BESSY (Bioelectronic Sensing System) is a portable, low-power microbial biosensor designed for in situ water quality monitoring. It:

    ✔️ Uses engineered bacteria to detect specific contaminants via electrical signals.
    ✔️ Miniaturises biosensor reactors for continuous, real-time water analysis.
    ✔️ Transmits data wirelessly, enabling remote, autonomous monitoring.

    • Detects pollutants such as arsenic and fumarate in rivers, lakes, and industrial wastewater.

    • Field-ready, cost-effective alternative to bulky lab-based sensors.

    • Deployed for environmental protection, reducing contamination risks.

  • More information here.

    Image: M-reactor for microbial integration; penny is shown for size comparison. Credit: Alyssa Y. Zhou, Moshe Baruch, Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin, Michel M. Maharbiz.

 

Case Study no. 2

Paper-based Sustainable Biosensors in India - Pilot

  • Access to affordable and scalable diagnostics remains a major barrier in healthcare, agriculture, and environmental monitoring in the Global South. Traditional biosensors are costly, non-biodegradable, and require specialised equipment.

  • Paper-based biosensors provide low-cost, biodegradable, and energy-efficient detection for diseases, contaminants, and food safety. They:

    ✔️ Enable rapid, on-site diagnostics without labs.

    ✔️ Detects water pollutants, pesticides, and health biomarkers.

    ✔️ Reduce medical and electronic waste.

    • COVID-19 rapid tests, glucose monitoring, and heavy metal detection in drinking water.

    • Farmers use them for pesticide screening, improving food safety.

    • Affordable, sustainable, and scalable – unlocking diagnostics for all.

  • More information here.

    Image: Schematic illustration of monitoring cortisol by chasing the level of the subject during physical activity. Credit: Anuj Kumar and Pralay Maiti.

Other interesting cases

Low-Cost Disease Detection (USA) - Review
AI-integrated biosensors for identifying diseases, reducing the need for laboratory infrastructure​.

AI-Enhanced Biodegradable Sensors - Review
New initiatives developing sensors that degrade after use, addressing environmental concerns​.

Environmental Monitoring - Review
Biosensors assessing environmental health to optimize natural conditions and reduce negative impact​s.

Artificial Cell-based Sensors (USA) -Research
Being developed for expanding the contexts within which biologically based sensing can operate.

New artificial biosensor technologies (India) - Review
Advances in the field that promote the resolution of medical and diagnostics issues in the future.

Biosensors for Real-Time Air Quality Monitoring - Review
Reсent advanсements in nanoteсhnology, optiсs, and AI are making biosensors more sensitive, efficient, and user-friendly.

Detect chemical contamination in food - Review
Identification of chemical contaminants, including pesticides, heavy metals, migratory substances from packaging materials, pollutants, and unapproved and dangerous food additives in food.

Wearable glucose biosensors for noninvasive real-time monitoring (International) - Review
Exploring the need for low-cost, real-time detection of increased blood sugar levels in diabetics, and early digital health awareness controls.

Liquid Crystal/Hydrogel Biosensor Arrays (South Korea) - Prototype
They could provide a cost-effective and easy visual detection array without the need for sophisticated instruments.

Future scenarios: what might happen in 2035?

As part of our exploration of these nine underhyped technologies, our partners at Pluriversa conducted a foresight exercise to consider possible futures and anticipate the challenges and opportunities within each technology. The exercise produced four scenarios for the year 2035, which you can read here, along with speculative use cases - with different potential outcomes - for each technology. Read on to explore potential future scenarios involving artificial biosensors.

2035: Telehealth for the Elderly

Thanks to the use of low-cost and open-source medical biosensors, health practitioners can now offer elderly people cheaper treatments that do not require lab-owned products.

This new approach uses specialised and cheaply produced artificial biosensors that can look for specific chemical components, making them very accurate in detecting specific health issues. It also helps reduce the amount of single-use waste when compared to conventional medical supplies.

Paired with drones that go to patients’ houses, biosensors have helped improve accessibility by eliminating the need to mobilize to see a doctor for a health screening.

2035: Space Mining

Space mining robots are equipped with the best biosensors. Fabricated with the use of high-precision 3D printing technologies, the sensors react to rare materials, sending out signals to nearby spatial mining stations. All of this is done at a fraction of the cost of human-led mining expeditions.

The result has been an increase in space exploration and mining. Some observers of the phenomenon have even described it as a space rush.

Companies and nations have started making claims regarding entire territories in the areas surrounding the Earth.

Final thoughts

If you’re working in health, environmental monitoring, agriculture, or early warning systems, artificial biosensors could help you detect problems earlier and respond faster. The key is making them affordable, adaptable, and trusted.

Some ideas to explore next:

  •  Could open-source biosensors support local water or food safety testing?

  • Might wearable health monitors reduce barriers to early diagnosis in rural settings?

  •  Are there research labs or startups developing biosensors for your region’s specific risks?

  •  Could citizen science or community monitoring projects benefit from DIY biosensing kits?

Artificial biosensors won’t solve every challenge—but they could sharpen our senses where it matters most.

This is a deep dive into one of our nine underhyped frontier technologies for development.
The full exploration will be released on April 23rd. Sign up to the launch event here.

Frontier Tech Hub

The Frontier Tech Hub works with UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff and global partners to understand the potential for innovative tech in the development context, and then test and scale their ideas.

https://www.frontiertechhub.org/
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