Advanced nanomaterials for use in electrochemical and optical immunoassays of carcinoembryonic antigen. A review

Abstract

This review (with 196 refs.) covers the state of the art in electrochemical and optical immunoassays for the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). In essence, it has sections on (a) frequently applied principles and types of CEA immunoassays; (b) aspects of sensor fabrication including immunological and immobilization procedures and the proper choice of nanomaterials; (c) electrochemical immunoassays, with subsections on assays based on the use of nanoparticles and other nanomaterials (such as conducting polymers and graphenes); (d) optical immunoassays based on the use of nanoparticles such as quantum dots, gold nanoparticles, upconversion nanoparticles, graphenes and their derivatives; (d) lateral flow and lab-on-a-chip (microfluidic) immunoassays; and (e) on multiplexed electrochemical and optical immunoassays with and without labels. Examples for applications to real samples are given. A final section discusses current limitations and trends in terms of sensing schemes and nanomaterials.