Recent developments in nanofiber-based sensors for disease detection, immunosensing, and monitoring

Abstract

Disease diagnosis and treatment always have and will remain the primary goals of modern healthcare. When diseases may be detected early, however, clinical outcomes are able to be improved due to the increased efficiency of therapeutic treatments. To improve upon the detection of diseases, nanofibers (NFs) have been applied to create nanosensors capable of detecting specific biomarkers of certain diseases and illnesses. NFs possess a high surface area to volume ratio, which allows for increased contact between the target analyte and the sensing apparatus, thus often improving the sensitivity, selectivity, and limit of detection of the sensor. These systems also present one method towards point of care healthcare—expanding access to accurate healthcare devices to those who currently lack the infrastructure, if the technology can be commercially scaled. Much progress has been made in recent years for the detection of malaria, cancer, and other diseases while implementing NFs for sensing and are discussed here. Trends and future considerations for the field of NF-based disease diagnosis and monitoring are also considered.

Keywords

• Immunosensing
• Malaria
• Cancer
• Nanofibers
• Healthcare