Label-free detection and manipulation of single biological nanoparticles

In the past several years, there have been significant advances in the field of nanoparticle detection for various biological applications. Of considerable interest are synthetic nanoparticles being designed as potential drug delivery systems as well as naturally occurring or biological nanoparticles, including viruses and extracellular vesicles. Many infectious diseases and several human cancers are attributed to individual virions. Because these particles likely display different degrees of heterogeneity under normal physiological conditions, characterization of these natural nanoparticles with single‐particle sensitivity is necessary for elucidating information on their basic structure and function as well as revealing novel targets for therapeutic intervention. Additionally, biodefense and point‐of‐care clinical testing demand ultrasensitive detection of viral pathogens particularly with high specificity. Consequently, the ability to perform label‐free virus sensing has motivated the development of multiple electrical‐, mechanical‐, and optical‐based detection techniques, some of which may even have the potential for nanoparticle sorting and multi‐parametric analysis. For each technique, the challenges associated with label‐free detection and measurement sensitivity are discussed as are their potential contributions for future real‐world applications. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2016, 8:717–729. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1392 This article is categorized under: Diagnostic Tools > In Vitro Nanoparticle-Based Sensing Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious Disease