Optical Biosensing Technologies for Environmental and Biomedical Applications
Summary
Optical biosensing technologies exploit interactions between light and biological recognition elements to detect a wide range of environmental contaminants and clinical biomarkers. By converting molecular binding events into optical signals—via changes in intensity, wavelength, phase or polarization—these platforms offer real-time, label-free and highly sensitive analyses. Key transduction schemes include surface plasmon resonance (SPR), localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), evanescent‐wave fluorescence, surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy and interferometry. Optical fibres and waveguides enable miniaturisation and remote sensing, while photonic crystals and nanostructured plasmonic substrates enhance signal strength and multiplexing capacity. In environmental monitoring, optical biosensors rapidly quantify pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, toxins and pathogens in water, air and soil, often with minimal sample preparation. In biomedical settings, they enable point-of-care diagnostics, therapeutic drug monitoring and early disease detection by measuring proteins, nucleic acids, small-molecule metabolites and whole cells in complex fluids. Advances in microfluidic integration, portable optics and machine-learning-assisted spectral analysis are extending performance in field and clinical contexts. Major challenges include improving robustness in heterogeneous samples, extending dynamic range, and embedding biosensors within automated networks for continuous surveillance.
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Optical Biosensing Technologies for Environmental and Biomedical Applications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in optical biosensing technologies for environmental and biomedical applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR): Collective oscillation of electrons at a metal–dielectric interface, used to monitor refractive index changes upon molecular binding.
Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR): Resonant oscillation of conduction electrons in metal nanoparticles, sensitive to local refractive index variations.
Biorecognition element: Biological molecule (antibody, aptamer, enzyme) that selectively binds a target analyte.
Evanescent wave: Electromagnetic field that decays exponentially from a waveguide or prism interface, probing the immediate environment for binding events.
Interferometry: Technique measuring phase differences between light beams to detect minute changes in optical path length caused by analyte binding.
References
- Recent Advances in Optical Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring and Early Warning. Sensors (2013).
- Optical Biosensors and Their Applications for the Detection of Water Pollutants. Biosensors (2023).
- Review of Integrated Optical Biosensors for Point-of-Care Applications. Biosensors (2020).
- Recent Progress in Optical Sensors for Biomedical Diagnostics. Micromachines (2020).
- Optical Biosensors for Label-Free Detection of Small Molecules. Sensors (2018).
- Optical Biosensors for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Biosensors (2019).
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