Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity Diagnostics

Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs) that carry biomolecular signatures reflective of their parent cells, making them powerful tools for non-invasive diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring. Despite their potential, clinical application is hindered by challenges such as low abundance,...

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Main Authors: Seungah Lee, Nayra A. M. Moussa, Seong Ho Kang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/15/1153
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author Seungah Lee
Nayra A. M. Moussa
Seong Ho Kang
author_facet Seungah Lee
Nayra A. M. Moussa
Seong Ho Kang
author_sort Seungah Lee
collection DOAJ
description Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs) that carry biomolecular signatures reflective of their parent cells, making them powerful tools for non-invasive diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring. Despite their potential, clinical application is hindered by challenges such as low abundance, heterogeneity, and the complexity of biological samples. To address these limitations, plasmonic biosensing technologies—particularly propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR), localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)—have been developed to enable label-free, highly sensitive, and multiplexed detection at the single-vesicle level. This review outlines recent advancements in nanoplasmonic platforms for exosome detection and profiling, emphasizing innovations in nanostructure engineering, microfluidic integration, and signal enhancement. Representative applications in oncology, neurology, and immunology are discussed, along with the increasingly critical role of artificial intelligence (AI) in spectral interpretation and diagnostic classification. Key technical and translational challenges—such as assay standardization, substrate reproducibility, and clinical validation—are also addressed. Overall, this review highlights the synergy between exosome biology and plasmonic nanotechnology, offering a path toward real-time, precision diagnostics via sub-femtomolar detection of exosomal miRNAs through next-generation biosensing strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-4844d90024e94c4fbd4f895fd3f6fc3c2025-08-20T03:04:43ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-07-011515115310.3390/nano15151153Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity DiagnosticsSeungah Lee0Nayra A. M. Moussa1Seong Ho Kang2Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Natural Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si 17104, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si 17104, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Natural Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si 17104, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaExosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs) that carry biomolecular signatures reflective of their parent cells, making them powerful tools for non-invasive diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring. Despite their potential, clinical application is hindered by challenges such as low abundance, heterogeneity, and the complexity of biological samples. To address these limitations, plasmonic biosensing technologies—particularly propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR), localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)—have been developed to enable label-free, highly sensitive, and multiplexed detection at the single-vesicle level. This review outlines recent advancements in nanoplasmonic platforms for exosome detection and profiling, emphasizing innovations in nanostructure engineering, microfluidic integration, and signal enhancement. Representative applications in oncology, neurology, and immunology are discussed, along with the increasingly critical role of artificial intelligence (AI) in spectral interpretation and diagnostic classification. Key technical and translational challenges—such as assay standardization, substrate reproducibility, and clinical validation—are also addressed. Overall, this review highlights the synergy between exosome biology and plasmonic nanotechnology, offering a path toward real-time, precision diagnostics via sub-femtomolar detection of exosomal miRNAs through next-generation biosensing strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/15/1153exosomenanoplasmonic biosensorspropagating surface plasmon resonancelocalized surface plasmon resonancesurface-enhanced Raman scatteringhigh-sensitivity diagnostics
spellingShingle Seungah Lee
Nayra A. M. Moussa
Seong Ho Kang
Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity Diagnostics
Nanomaterials
exosome
nanoplasmonic biosensors
propagating surface plasmon resonance
localized surface plasmon resonance
surface-enhanced Raman scattering
high-sensitivity diagnostics
title Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity Diagnostics
title_full Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity Diagnostics
title_fullStr Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity Diagnostics
title_full_unstemmed Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity Diagnostics
title_short Plasmonic Nanostructures for Exosome Biosensing: Enabling High-Sensitivity Diagnostics
title_sort plasmonic nanostructures for exosome biosensing enabling high sensitivity diagnostics
topic exosome
nanoplasmonic biosensors
propagating surface plasmon resonance
localized surface plasmon resonance
surface-enhanced Raman scattering
high-sensitivity diagnostics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/15/1153
work_keys_str_mv AT seungahlee plasmonicnanostructuresforexosomebiosensingenablinghighsensitivitydiagnostics
AT nayraammoussa plasmonicnanostructuresforexosomebiosensingenablinghighsensitivitydiagnostics
AT seonghokang plasmonicnanostructuresforexosomebiosensingenablinghighsensitivitydiagnostics