Innovative strategies and approaches for enhancing performance in optical probe-based biosensors for point-of-care testing

Optical probe-based biosensors (OPBs) have proven instrumental in human health monitoring. The growing portability and miniaturization of OPBs have rendered them cost-effective and user-friendly, presenting great potential for the advancement of point-of-care testing (POCT) platforms. To further expand their applications, ongoing efforts have been made to enhance their detection performance, particularly focusing on sensitivity. This review provides a comprehensive overview on existing OPBs in POCT and summarizes their underlying detection principles. Additionally, this review highlights four strategies and approaches for enhancing the performance of OPBs: optimizing target-capturing capability, improving the conversion efficiency of biological signals to optical signals, enhancing the separation ability of signal separation system, and optimizing the signal recognition ability of the reader. By focusing on these strategies, this review explores the potential of optimized OPBs in expanding their applications across various human health-related domains.