Advances in Nanotechnology-Based Biosensing of Immunoregulatory Cytokines

Cytokines are a large group of small proteins secreted by immune and non-immune cells in response to external stimuli. Much attention has been given to the application of cytokines' detection in early disease diagnosis/monitoring and therapeutic response assessment. To date, a wide range of assays are available for cytokines detection. However, in specific applications, multiplexed or continuous measurements of cytokines with wearable biosensing devices are highly desirable. For such efforts, various nanomaterials have been extensively investigated due to their extraordinary properties, such as high surface area and controllable particle size and shape, which leads to their tunable optical emission, electrical, and magnetic properties. Different types of nanomaterials such as noble metal, metal oxide, and carbon nanoparticles have been explored for various biosensing applications. Advances in nanomaterial synthesis and device development have led to significant progress in pushing the limit of cytokine detection. This article reviews currently used methods for cytokines detection and new nanotechnology-based biosensors for ultrasensitive cytokine detection.