Light-scattering signals from nanoparticles in biochemical assay, pharmaceutical analysis and biological imaging

Light scattered from nanoparticles (NPs) can easily be observed by the naked eye. Light-scattering signals from nanomaterials have been applied extensively for analysis (e.g., in biochemical and pharmaceutical sciences). Metal NPs with defined components, size and shape can be used as fluorescent analogs for labeling biomolecules in biochemical analysis and biological imaging, due to the colors of the scattered light, if excited with a white-light source. Enhanced light-scattering signals from aggregates of NPs induced by analytes can be used for monitoring molecular interaction or quantitative detection of analytes. Due to the advantages of simplicity and sensitivity, light-scattering spectrometric methods based on nanomaterials have shown great promise. In this contribution, we review applications of light-scattering signals from NPs in biochemical assay, pharmaceutical analysis and biological imaging.