Laura M. Lechuga
KEYNOTE LECTURE
From Nanophotonics to Clinical Diagnostics: Rapid and Multiplexed Biosensing at the Point of Care
Laura M. Lechuga
Nanobiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications Group, Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC, BIST and CIBER-BBN, Spain
ABSTRACT
The increasing demand for faster, more accessible, and more informative diagnostic tools is driving the development of advanced biosensor technologies capable of moving analytical testing from centralized laboratories to the point of care. Nanophotonic biosensors are particularly attractive in this context, combining high sensitivity, label-free detection, multiplexing capabilities, and compatibility with compact and portable instrumentation.
We develop integrated nanophotonic biosensor platforms aimed at translating these advantages into clinically relevant diagnostic solutions. Our approach combines highly sensitive nanophotonic sensor chips with tailored biofunctionalization strategies, microfluidics, and automated fluid handling within compact and user-friendly devices. These sensing platforms enable the direct and selective detection of a broad range of clinically relevant targets, including proteins, nucleic acids, pathogens, and small molecules, in complex biological samples, with analysis times ranging few minutes.
A key feature of our biosensor technology is its ability to perform multiplexed analysis, allowing the simultaneous determination of several biomarkers from a single sample and thereby providing more comprehensive diagnostic information. We have applied these nanobiosensor platforms to diverse biomedical challenges, including the rapid identification of bacterial and viral infections, detection of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, therapeutic drug monitoring, and the analysis of cancer-associated biomarkers for early diagnosis and patient stratification, among others.
Beyond analytical performance, particular attention is devoted to the integration and translation of these technologies into complete point-of-care systems, addressing critical aspects such as sample handling, surface chemistry, microfluidics, sensor multiplexing, portability, and operation with real clinical specimens.
These developments illustrate the potential of nanophotonic biosensing to bridge advanced photonic technologies and clinical diagnostics, enabling rapid, decentralized, and information-rich testing and contributing to a new generation of precision diagnostic tools.