Nanotechnology-Based Biosensors and Diagnostics: Technology Push versus Industrial/Healthcare Requirements

There have been considerable advances in the field of nanotechnology-based biosensors and diagnostics (NBBD) during the last two decades. These include the production of nanomaterials (NMs), employing them for new biosensing and diagnostic applications, their extensive characterization for in vitro and in vivo applications, and toxicity analysis. All these developments have led to tremendous technology push and successful demonstrations of several promising NBBD. However, there has been a significant lag in their commercialization, especially due to the lack of international regulatory guidelines for evaluating the safety of NMs and the growing public concerns about their toxicity. Despite these numerous advances and the recent regulatory approval of several NMs, it still remains to be seen if NBBD are superior to conventional ones (not based on NMs), reliable, reproducible, cost effective, and robust enough to meet the requirements of industries and healthcare. This manuscript provides a critical review of NBBD, the technology push, and the industrial/healthcare requirements.