Oxygen-Sensitive Optical Nanosensors: Current Advances and Future Perspectives

Oxygen sensing is essential across a wide range of fields, from understanding cellular metabolism and disease mechanisms to optimizing industrial and environmental processes. In this Perspective, we highlight key developments in optical architectures (at the nanometer to sub-micrometer scale), including their transduction methods and applications to in vitro, in vivo/in situ, and nonbiological systems. We also discuss future directions for the field in the domain of expanding extra/intracellular and nonbiological sensing. We address improving accessibility for nonexpert users through the need for standardized protocols and scalable production methods. Furthermore, we advocate for fostering interdisciplinary collaborations through academic incubators, conference networking, and strategic citation practices to bridge gaps between fundamental research and applied science to expand the impact of these tools to researchers outside the sensing field. Addressing these challenges will help drive the development of more versatile and widely accessible oxygen sensors, thus advancing innovation across diverse disciplines.