Photonic Sensors, Volume. 15, Issue 1, 250123(2025)

Micro/Nano Lasers for Biomolecular Sensing and Cellular Analysis

WU Xiaoqin, ZHU Chunyan, WANG Yipei, and FAN Xudong

Due to the stimulated emission amplification, lasers with excellent characteristics, including the high energy density, ultra-narrow spectral linewidth, and high directionality, are extremely favorable for sensing, detection, and imaging. Bringing these merits into the micro/nano scale, micro/nano lasers with miniaturized device sizes further enable outstanding spatial and temporal confinement, greatly boosting the light-matter interaction and bridging the size mismatch between light and biomolecules. Thanks to these advantages, micro/nano lasers have drawn widespread attention and opened new opportunities for a variety of biomedical and biochemical applications. In this paper, we review recent developments in biomolecular sensing and cellular analysis based on micro/nano lasers. We first describe the fundamental building blocks of micro/nano lasers, with discussions on gain material considerations, cavity structures, and pumping. We then review recent applications using micro/nano lasers as biosensors and bioprobes, including biomolecule (mainly proteins and DNAs) sensing, wavelength-multiplexed cell labeling/tracking/probing, and high-resolution cellular/tissue bioimaging. Finally, an outlook of the challenges and potential developments of micro/nano lasers for biological sensing and clinical applications is provided.

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WU Xiaoqin, ZHU Chunyan, WANG Yipei, FAN Xudong. Micro/Nano Lasers for Biomolecular Sensing and Cellular Analysis[J]. Photonic Sensors, 2025, 15(1): 250123

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Paper Information

Received: Sep. 20, 2023

Accepted: May. 13, 2025

Published Online: May. 13, 2025

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DOI:10.1007/s13320-024-0711-7

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