Towards next-generation label-free biosensors: recent advances in whispering gallery mode sensors

Whispering gallery mode biosensors have been widely exploited over the past decade to study molecular interactions by virtue of their high sensitivity and applicability in real-time kinetic analysis without the requirement to label. There have been immense research efforts made for advancing the instrumentation as well as the design of detection assays, with the common goal of progressing towards real-world sensing applications. We therefore review a set of recent developments made in this field and discuss the requirements that whispering gallery mode label-free sensors need to fulfill for making a real world impact outside of the laboratory. These requirements are directly related to the challenges that these sensors face, and the methods proposed to overcome them are discussed. Moving forward, we provide the future prospects and the potential impact of this technology.