Advances in Luminescence-Based Biosensing with Quantum Dots

The design and development of biosensors have assumed a centre stage for researchers in the present decade owing to the wide range of applications, such as disease diagnosis, drug delivery and monitoring of environmental and food quality. Therefore, it is crucial and required to build effective biosensors that can assess the finer points of biological interactions, even at very small scales, with extraordinary precision and with the highest sensitivities ever. Miniaturisation of the biosensing devices using micro-and nano-fabrication technologies has drawn considerable attention in recent years. With higher sensitivities and smaller detection limits by several orders of magnitude, these nano-objects have clearly improved performances. The fact that nanoparticles have high surface area to volume ratios, which enable the surface to be employed in a greater and far wider range of functional ways, is one advantage shared by all nanomaterials. Additionally, the unique electromechanical, optical, or physicochemical features of these materials are fantastic advantages for the development of biosensors. Furthermore, these nanomaterials can themselves act as transduction elements. This article provides an overview of applications of quantum dots in biosensing by employing luminescence-based methods.