Fiber-optic nanosensors for single-cell monitoring

This article is an overview of the fabrication, operating principles, and applications of fiber-optic nanobiosensors with the capability of in-vivo analysis at the single-cell level. Recently, the cross-disciplinary integration of nanotechnology, biology, and photonics has been revolutionizing important areas in molecular biology, especially diagnostics and therapy at the molecular and cellular level. Fiber-optic nanobiosensors are a unique class of biosensor that enable analytical measurements in individual living cells and the probing of individual chemical species in specific locations within a cell. This article provides a review of the research performed in our laboratory and discusses the usefulness and potential of this nanotechnology-based biosensor system in biological research and its applications to biomonitoring of individual cells.