Advances towards points of care

The authors acknowledge Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT/MEC) for funding: REQUIMTE (Pest-C/EQB/LA0006/2011); UCIBIO (UID/Multi/04378/2013); SFRH/BD/87836/2012 for MC; PD/BD/105734/2014 for PP. WaterJPI/0003/2013-TRACE for FFC. The remarkable physicochemical properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have prompted developments in the exploration of biomolecular interactions with AuNP-containing systems, in particular for biomedical applications in diagnostics. These systems show great promise in improving sensitivity, ease of operation and portability. Despite this endeavor, most platforms have yet to reach maturity and make their way into clinics or points of care (POC). Here, we present an overview of emerging and available molecular diagnostics using AuNPs for biomedical sensing that are currently being translated to the clinical setting. publishersversion published