The development of optical nanosensors for biological measurements

This article discusses and documents the basic concepts of, and development s in, the field of optical nanosensors and nanobiosensors. It describes the progression of this field of research from its birth up to the present, wi th emphasis on the techniques of sensor construction and their application to biological systems. After a brief overview of the techniques for fabrica ting nanometer-sized optical fibers, we describe the various types of trans ducer and bioreceptor molecule presently used for nanosensor and nanobiosen sor fabrication.