Recent advances in nanostructures and nanocrystals as signal-amplification elements in electrochemical cytosensing

•Advances in electrochemical cytosensing based on nanostructures.•Electroanalytical application of nanostructures to disease diagnosis and treatment.•Multifunctional nanostructure materials in signal amplification for cytosensors.

Considering the vital role of cells in life science and human health, cytosensors have become a hot research topic. Electrochemical cytosensors attract much attention. In this review, we discuss some recent efforts to construct novel and improved electrochemical cytosensors based on graphene, carbon nanotubes, some metal-nanoparticle composites, quantum dots, nanofibers and nanowires. In addition, we summarize examples of nanostructure applications in electrochemical cytosensing reported in the literature from 2009 to date, with their advantages and limitations, and stress their potential for future development. Also, we focus on the current surface-modification strategies with some nanostructures, the influence of nanostructure properties on cytosensor performance and the applications of these materials in conjunction with different transducers to the detection of cells.