title: Current achievements of nanoparticle applications in developing optical sensing and imaging techniques.
abstract: Metallic nanostructures have recently been demonstrated to improve the performance of optical sensing and imaging techniques due to their remarkable localization capability of electromagnetic fields. Particularly, the zero-dimensional nanostructure, commonly called a nanoparticle, is a promising component for optical measurement systems due to its attractive features, e.g., ease of fabrication, capability of surface modification and relatively high biocompatibility. This review summarizes the work to date on metallic nanoparticles for optical sensing and imaging applications, starting with the theoretical backgrounds of plasmonic effects in nanoparticles and moving through the applications in Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence biosensors. Various efforts for enhancing the sensitivity, selectivity and biocompatibility are summarized, and the future outlooks for this field are discussed. Convergent studies in optical sensing and imaging have been emerging field for the development of medical applications, including clinical diagnosis and therapeutic applications.
authors.affiliation: Medical Device Development Center, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation (DGMIF), Daegu, 41061 Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Ryul
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Energy Convergence Technology, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241 Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Myeong
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241 Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyerin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241 Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Donghoon
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241 Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyujung
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Field localization; Nanoparticles; Optical imaging; Optical sensing; Surface plasmons