2.2.3  Oligosaccharides
Trisaccharides are carbohydrates that can selectively bind carbohydrate-specific receptors on pathogens. Thus, trisaccharide ligands have been used as biorecognition elements for pathogen detection using electrochemical biosensors. For example, Hai et al. used a hybrid E-QCM biosensor coated with hemagglutinin-specific trisaccharide ligands for the detection of human influenza A virus (H1N1) (Hai et al. 2017). The use of carbohydrates as biorecognition elements is limited in part due to the weak affinity of carbohydrate-protein interactions and low selectivity, which are currently mitigated through secondary interactions (Zeng et al. 2012).