Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) may serve as signal transducers for nanobiosensors. Recent studies have developed innovative methods of engineering molecularly specific sensors, while others have devised methods of deploying such sensors within live animals and plants. These advances may potentiate the use of implantable, noninvasive biosensors for continuous drug, disease, and contaminant monitoring based on the optical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Such tools have substantial potential to improve disease diagnostics, prognosis, drug safety, therapeutic response, and patient compliance. Outside of clinical applications, such sensors also have substantial potential in environmental monitoring or as research tools in the lab. However, substantial work remains to be done to realize these goals through further advances in materials science and engineering. Here, we review the current landscape of quantitative SWCNT-based optical biosensors that have been deployed in living plants and animals. Specifically, we focused this review on methods that have been developed to deploy SWCNT-based sensors in vivo as well as analytes that have been detected by SWCNTs in vivo. Finally, we evaluated potential future directions to take advantage of the promise outlined here toward field-deployable or implantable use in patients.

中文翻译：

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单壁碳纳米管作为体内纳米生物传感器的光学传感器


半导体单壁碳纳米管 （SWCNT） 可用作纳米生物传感器的信号传感器。最近的研究开发了设计分子特异性传感器的创新方法，而其他人则设计了在活体动植物中部署此类传感器的方法。这些进步可能会加强植入式、无创生物传感器的使用，根据单壁碳纳米管 （SWCNT） 的光学特性进行连续的药物、疾病和污染物监测。这些工具在改善疾病诊断、预后、药物安全性、治疗反应和患者依从性方面具有巨大潜力。除了临床应用之外，这种传感器在环境监测或作为实验室研究工具方面也具有巨大潜力。然而，要通过材料科学和工程的进一步进步来实现这些目标，还有大量工作要做。在这里，我们回顾了已部署在活体植物和动物中的基于 SWCNT 的定量光学生物传感器的现状。具体来说，我们把这篇综述的重点放在了已经开发的用于在体内部署基于 SWCNT 的传感器的方法以及 SWCNT 在体内检测到的分析物上。最后，我们评估了潜在的未来方向，以利用此处概述的对患者现场部署或植入使用的承诺。