Nanoparticle-based plasmonic devices for bacteria and virus recognition

Identification of pathogens is critical as point-of-care applications, where various types of methods may be used for this purpose along with certain disadvantages for each method. To overcome these disadvantages and to build instruments that are simple, compact, user-friendly, cost-effective with quick response time and ideal for mass production are the biggest goals of research on this subject. Although many biosensing instruments are available, plasmonic makes it less difficult and more accurate to observe binding behavior at molecular level than many other types. Due to its noninvasive character, real-time, and label-free detection opportunities, plasmonic has now become an important optical biosensing platform for various applications ranging from pharmaceutical and biological sciences to diagnostic purposes and global health services. This chapter focuses on recent developments in the detection and quantification of bacteria and viruses using plasmonic biosensors based on nanoparticles, which are one of the promising candidates as biomedical instruments for medical diagnostics in the near future. Description of biosensors, including bioreceptors and transducers, and the nanoparticle-based plasmonic systems commonly used to detect the identification of bacteria and viruses are provided. Future problems and strategies are also discussed.