Nanotechnology has emerged as one of the most promising research fields in the past decades, and there have been intense research activities all around the world to observe, characterise and apply materials at the nanoscale. Nanomaterials pave the way for new applications and new miniaturised products such as nanometric electric wires and single-photon sources. Of particular importance is the field of nanomedicine, which is expected to have a large impact on disease diagnosis and in the development of new therapies, while proposing a fresh insight into patient management so as to reduce mortality rates and provide actual medical “breakthroughs” setting new gateways for future medicine. One of the most advanced domains is enhanced spectroscopy based on optical properties of metallic nanostructures and, more specifically, on their plasmonic properties. Here, nanostructures can be seen as a local field enhancer and a nanometric light source, inducing an increase of the light–matter interaction. In this latter case, nanostructures act as a nanoantenna. Nanoantennae can be utilized in the medical field and for the detection and the identification of small quantities of biomolecules (proteins, for example). Nanoantennae, therefore, show great promise in the field of optical biosensors.
This book concentrates on the various fields related to the development of a nanobiosensor and presents the latest information from renowned experts. It focuses on the enhanced spectroscopy, including SERS, SEIRA/SEIRS, and near-field optics, and the related physical processes (optical properties of metallic nanoparticles, plasmon resonance, field enhancement, etc.). Some applications in the biological and medical field are presented to show the potential of such techniques as sensors if combined with functionalization.
