Electrochemical biosensor strategies for pathogen detection in water security

This chapter addresses the limitations of conventional laboratory analytical techniques, and presents an introduction to electrochemical biosensing for the detection of pathogens in water supply systems. The detection principle of biosensors is based on the biological recognition of a molecule that is specific to the organism of interest. Of the many strategies available, the ones based on antibodies and on DNA recognition are evaluated and compared to conclude that DNA sensors are the optimal available choice mainly because of the short assay response time, and of the capability to detect organisms that are present in small concentrations and in small fractions with respect to other organisms present in the same sample. The second part of the chapter introduces the technologies used for the assays, in particular some electrochemical analytical techniques are introduced, and the technology of choice developed in the framework of the DINAMICS project is described.