Plasmonic detection of carbohydrate-mediated biological events

The incorporation of nanomaterials in glycoscience research enables the design of highly selective and sensitive bioanalytical devices for the detection of disease-associated biomarkers. In particular, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopies are powerful biosensing techniques that employ metallic nanostructures to achieve efficient detection of biomolecules. Herein, the most recent achievements are reviewed toward the use of plasmonic nanomaterials together with glycans or glycan-interacting moieties, to detect carbohydrate-mediated biological interactions. The review thus focuses on the use of novel optical nanosensors, mainly LSPR and SERS, for the detection of saccharides, lectins, viruses, bacteria, and even whole eukaryotic cells.