Chiral Plasmonic Sensors: Fundamentals and Emerging Applications

Area of Science:

• Plasmonics
• Nanotechnology
• Chiroptical Spectroscopy

Background:

• Conventional chiral detection methods (CD, chromatography, NMR) have limitations.
• Chiral plasmonic sensors provide enhanced enantioselective detection capabilities.
• Nanostructure design is crucial for tailoring chiroptical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a unifying framework for designing chiral plasmonic sensors using chiral imprinting.
• To review fabrication methods and sensing mechanisms of plasmonic nanostructures for chiral detection.
• To highlight applications and future directions in chiral plasmonic sensing.

Main Methods:

• Physical and chemical chiral imprinting strategies for nanostructure design.
• Fabrication techniques including lithography, DNA assembly, and template-assisted growth.
• Chiral sensing via localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based techniques (CD, colorimetry, SERS, PL, CPL).

Main Results:

• Tailored nanostructures exhibit tunable chiroptical activity.
• Highly sensitive chiral detection achieved through various LSPR-based methods.
• Demonstrated applications in biosensing, diagnostics, and catalysis monitoring.

Conclusions:

• Chiral plasmonic sensors represent a powerful platform for enantioselective detection.
• Chiral imprinting is a key strategy for developing advanced chiral sensors.
• Further integration into practical analytical systems is a promising future direction.