Design of Gold Nanoparticle‐Based Colorimetric Biosensing Assays

Gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based colorimetric biosensing assays have recently attracted considerable attention in diagnostic applications due to their simplicity and versatility. This Minireview summarizes recent advances in this field and attempts to provide general guidance on how to design such assays. The key to the AuNP-based colorimetric sensing platform is the control of colloidal AuNP dispersion and aggregation stages by using biological processes (or analytes) of interest. The ability to balance interparticle attractive and repulsive forces, which determine whether AuNPs are stabilized or aggregated and, consequently, the color of the solution, is central in the design of such systems. AuNP aggregation…

• CR
  Canada Research Chairs
• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada