Nanophotonic Strategies for Chiral Biosensing: Nanoparticles, Metasurfaces, Magneto‐Optical, and Quantum Approaches

Chirality is fundamental in many aspects of life, from chemical reactions to biological processes. In medicine, it is central to the diagnosis of diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, whose biomarkers are chiral and can appear in blood before symptoms emerge. In pharmaceuticals, chirality is critical: while one enantiomer of a drug may provide therapeutic benefit, its mirror image can be ineffective or toxic. Despite this importance, detecting and discriminating chiral molecules at low concentrations remains a challenge, largely due to the intrinsically weak nature of chiroptical signals. Recent advances in nanophotonics have opened promising pathways to overcome these limitations by engineering light‐matter interactions at the nanoscale. This article summarizes recent progress in chiral nanophotonic biosensing, spanning plasmonic nanoparticles, metasurfaces, magnetophotonic nanostructures, and emerging quantum‐enabled schemes. How engineered near‐fields, extrinsic and substrate‐induced chirality, and magneto‐chiroptical effects enable ultrasensitive detection of enantiomers and biologically relevant aggregates are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to quantum plasmonic biosensing, where nonclassical light and quantum tunneling effects can act together to push sensitivity toward the single‐molecule limit with unprecedented enantiomeric discrimination. With the integration of these developments, nanophotonics is poised to deliver a new generation of label‐free, highly selective chiral biosensors with far‐reaching implications for drug discovery, diagnostics, and personalized medicine.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Photonics Research
Published
2025-11-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adpr.202500242
Primary Topic
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Nanophotonic Strategies for Chiral Biosensing: Nanoparticles, Metasurfaces, Magneto‐Optical, and Quantum Approaches

J. R. Mejía-Salazar
Advanced Photonics Research
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
article

Nanophotonic Strategies for Chiral Biosensing: Nanoparticles, Metasurfaces, Magneto‐Optical, and Quantum Approaches

J. R. Mejía-Salazar
article en

Abstract

Chirality is fundamental in many aspects of life, from chemical reactions to biological processes. In medicine, it is central to the diagnosis of diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, whose biomarkers are chiral and can appear in blood before symptoms emerge. In pharmaceuticals, chirality is critical: while one enantiomer of a drug may provide therapeutic benefit, its mirror image can be ineffective or toxic. Despite this importance, detecting and discriminating chiral molecules at low concentrations remains a challenge, largely due to the intrinsically weak nature of chiroptical signals. Recent advances in nanophotonics have opened promising pathways to overcome these limitations by engineering light‐matter interactions at the nanoscale. This article summarizes recent progress in chiral nanophotonic biosensing, spanning plasmonic nanoparticles, metasurfaces, magnetophotonic nanostructures, and emerging quantum‐enabled schemes. How engineered near‐fields, extrinsic and substrate‐induced chirality, and magneto‐chiroptical effects enable ultrasensitive detection of enantiomers and biologically relevant aggregates are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to quantum plasmonic biosensing, where nonclassical light and quantum tunneling effects can act together to push sensitivity toward the single‐molecule limit with unprecedented enantiomeric discrimination. With the integration of these developments, nanophotonics is poised to deliver a new generation of label‐free, highly selective chiral biosensors with far‐reaching implications for drug discovery, diagnostics, and personalized medicine.

Advanced Photonics ResearchVol. 7(2)
National Institute of Telecommunications (BR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 73%
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
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