Cancer remains a leading cause of death globally, responsible for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Detecting cancer at an early stage significantly improves treatment success rates and reduces overall healthcare costs.
Image Credit: Chinnapong/Shutterstock.com
Conventional diagnostic tools, such as ultrasound, MRI, PET, CT scans, and scintigraphy, often identify cancer only at later stages. These methods can be expensive, expose patients to radiation, and may not offer the sensitivity needed for early detection.1,2
Similarly, current screening techniques for tumor-derived exosomes, circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and blood-based biomarkers tend to be invasive, resource-intensive, and dependent on specialized laboratory infrastructure.1,2
Recent advances in nanosensor technologies offer a promising alternative. These devices can detect cancer-specific biomarkers, such as nucleic acids, proteins, or extracellular vesicles, at very low concentrations, enabling earlier diagnosis and supporting the development of more personalized treatment strategies.
How Do Nanosensors Detect Cancer?
Tumor biomarkers are biochemical substances (e.g., DNA and RNA fragments, proteins, lipids, and sugars) that signal the development and progression of cancer. The presence of these substances can reflect disease state, underlying biological processes, or the body's response to treatment.
These biomarkers are often present in biological fluids such as blood, saliva, urine, or cerebrospinal fluid, but typically occur at low concentrations (as little as 1 ng/mL) and have short half-lives, making early detection difficult.2
Nanosensors are designed to detect these biomarkers with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity. The incorporation of nanoparticles, nanowires, carbon nanotubes, or two-dimensional materials like graphene helps to amplify weak signals and isolate trace analytes for accurate quantification.2
The development of a nanosensor begins by identifying the target biomarker and defining performance parameters such as sensitivity, specificity, and stability. The sensor is then constructed with appropriate nanomaterials and a transduction mechanism—typically optical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, or thermal.1
To improve selectivity, nanosensors are often surface-functionalized with biological recognition elements like antibodies, aptamers, or DNA sequences. When the target biomarker binds to the sensor, it alters the physical or chemical properties of the transducer.
These changes are converted into measurable outputs using techniques such as spectroscopy, electrical measurements, or imaging. For example, some nanosensors detect single molecules by tracking changes in surface charge, while others monitor shifts in optical properties.
Once optimized, nanosensors can be integrated into broader platforms, including microfluidic systems, wearable technologies, or lab-on-a-chip devices for real-time cancer biomarker monitoring.1
Download your PDF copy now!
Optical Nanosensors
Plasmonic nanoparticles, particularly gold (AuNPs) and silver (AgNPs), are widely used in cancer detection due to their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties. When illuminated with light matching the frequency of their conduction electron oscillations, these nanoparticles exhibit strong ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption.2
These absorption bands shift depending on particle size, shape, and aggregation. Colloidal solutions of AuNPs and AgNPs display distinct colors based on their aggregation state, allowing for analyte detection through visible light absorbance shifts and observable color changes in colorimetric assays.2
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is also used in nanosensor development. When Raman-active molecules are located near AuNPs or AgNPs, the Raman signal is amplified by a factor of 106 or more. This allows for ultrasensitive detection and quantification of low-abundance cancer-related compounds.2
Electrochemical Nanosensors
Nanomaterials play key roles in electrochemical biosensors by facilitating target molecule immobilization (e.g., with gold nanoparticles or graphene), enhancing signal strength (using metallic nanoparticles), or directly generating electrical signals (with metallic particles or magnetic beads).
The high surface-to-volume ratio of nanostructures such as nanowires and carbon nanotubes significantly improves sensitivity, enabling precise detection of cancer biomarkers through measurable changes in current, voltage, or resistance.2
Signal amplification is further improved by integrating multiple nanomaterials, such as graphene oxide, quantum dots, and AuNPs, into the sensor architecture. These combinations enhance output detection using voltammetric techniques.
Carbon-based materials like fullerenes (C60), functionalized with chitosan, enzymes, or metal ions, have also demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting cancer biomarkers. Incorporating C60 into single- or double-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs/DWCNTs) increases the detection performance even further, offering promise for early-stage tumor identification.2
Magnetic Nanosensors
Magnetic nanomaterials exhibit properties such as superparamagnetism, high magnetic susceptibility, and tunable coercivity—characteristics that can be adjusted through changes in size and geometry. These materials enhance sensor functionality by enabling magnetic labeling of cells, tissues, or organelles, particularly when paired with targeting ligands that improve binding specificity.2
In cancer diagnostics, magnetic NPs, including microbeads and microparticles, are used to isolate, concentrate, and quantify cancer-derived cells or extracellular vesicles from blood samples.
For instance, superparamagnetic NPs smaller than 20 nm are useful due to their biocompatibility and stability in biological environments. Magnetic microbeads are also commonly integrated into detection platforms to boost the sensitivity of magnetic sensing. This approach holds strong potential for developing accessible and reliable cancer detection technologies.2
Nanomechanical Sensors
Nanomechanical sensors are highly versatile tools in biosensing and typically feature micro- or nanoscale cantilevers that respond to molecular interactions. In static mode, these cantilevers bend in response to surface stress generated when target biomolecules bind to receptors immobilized on the cantilever surface.
In dynamic mode, the cantilevers oscillate at a resonant frequency that shifts when biomolecules bind, altering the cantilever’s mass or stiffness. These frequency changes enable precise, label-free detection of cancer-related biomarkers, often at very low concentrations.2
Nanosensors & Cancer: Tiny Tools to Play Big Role
Why Nanosensors Matter in Cancer Detection
Nanosensors represent a significant advancement in cancer diagnostics by offering high sensitivity with minimal invasiveness. They can be tailored to detect individual biomarkers or configured for multiplexed analysis, enabling the simultaneous detection of multiple cancer-related targets.
Their specificity comes from functionalization with biological recognition elements such as antibodies, aptamers, enzymes, or other binding proteins, of which antibodies and aptamers are the most widely used.1 These modifications allow nanosensors to bind selectively to tumor biomarkers with high accuracy.
Due to their small size, nanosensors can be integrated into medical implants, wearable technologies, or portable diagnostic platforms. Many also respond to environmental stimuli such as temperature, pressure, or light, supporting real-time monitoring and continuous data collection in clinical or point-of-care settings.1
Carbon nanotube-based nanosensors, for instance, are known for their fast signal transduction, detecting electrical changes in response to binding events. Their nanoscale structure also makes them ideal for compact device integration. Similarly, graphene’s two-dimensional structure supports rapid interaction with analytes, allowing for fast and precise signal detection.1
Recent studies have translated these properties into practical applications across a variety of cancer detection contexts:
- Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) decorated with AuNPs have been used to enhance gas sensor responses for breath analysis. These sensors detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that act as biomarkers for lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and adenomas.1
- Hyaluronic acid-based nanocontainers carrying miR-34a beacons have been developed for intracellular detection of miR-34a in metastatic breast cancer.
- An immunomagnetic nanosensor targeting glioblastoma cancer stem cells (CSCs) uses anti-CD133 monoclonal antibodies to recognize the CD133 membrane marker, enabling targeted molecular imaging.1
- Activity-based nanosensors have shown strong performance in noninvasive urinary detection of lung cancer in mouse models, achieving 95 % sensitivity and 100 % specificity for localized human lung adenocarcinoma.
- An aptamer-based electrolyte-gated graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) nanosensor enabled sensitive and specific detection of the lung cancer biomarker interleukin-6.1
- A multicolor fluorescent nanoprobe based on AuNPs has been engineered to simultaneously detect Ki-67 mRNA (a proliferation marker) and urokinase plasminogen activator (an invasion marker) in breast cancer.
- A label-free nanosensor using bacterial nanocellulose and AgNPs has been developed for early breast cancer detection via SERS.1
Looking Ahead: The Role of Nanosensors in Cancer Diagnostics
Nanosensors offer a promising approach to cancer detection. They combine high sensitivity with minimally invasive and real-time monitoring capabilities. Their ability to identify specific biomarkers at very low concentrations supports earlier diagnosis and more personalized treatment strategies.
Continued development is focused on improving sensor accuracy, reliability, and ease of integration into clinical settings. Applications range from wearable devices to lab-on-a-chip systems, with an emphasis on practical, scalable tools for healthcare use.
Recent work highlights this progress. A study published in Science Advances demonstrated an optical nanosensor array paired with machine learning to detect multiple protein biomarkers in biofluids. In tests for gynecologic cancers, the platform achieved an F1-score of approximately 0.95 using uterine lavage samples.3
For more information on cancer diagnostics and nanosensor technologies, please visit:
References and Further Reading
- Khazaei, M., Hosseini, M. S., Haghighi, A. M., Misaghi, M. (2023). Nanosensors and their applications in early diagnosis of cancer. Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research, 41, 100569. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbsr.2023.100569, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214180423000211
- Salvati, E., Stellacci, F., Krol, S. (2015). Nanosensors for early cancer detection and for therapeutic drug monitoring. Nanomedicine, 10(23), 3495-3512. DOI: 10.2217/nnm.15.180, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2217/nnm.15.180
- Yaari, Z. et al. (2021). A perception-based nanosensor platform to detect cancer biomarkers. Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj0852, https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj0852
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.