Integrated Nanoplasmonic Biosensors Recent Progress for Critical Care Medicine Applications

Nanoplasmonic biosensors are highly advantageous for their label-free, robust, rapid, cost-effective, and easy-to-integrate features, making them capable of real-time detection of surface-bound analyte biomolecules. This is accomplished through a shift in photon absorbing and scattering behaviors of localized surface plasmons, which are collective oscillations of conduction-band electrons highly localized on the surfaces of metallic nanostructures. These properties make nanoplasmonic biosensors promising candidates for point-of-care testing (POCT) of diseases. However, these sensors often fall short of simultaneously achieving the speed, sensitivity, and system miniaturization required for critical care medicine. In the intensive care unit (ICU), clinicians need to quickly diagnose and intervene in life-threatening illnesses. To address this issue, the authors of this “perspective” paper presents recent advancements in their integrated nanoplasmonic biosensor technologies. Their research shows that assays integrating nanoplasmonic materials with two-dimensional (2D) nanoscale multilayer transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) photoconductive channels offer promising POC platforms with rapid, sensitive, selective, user-friendly on-chip biosensing capabilities.