6Optical Nanosensors
6.1 Introduction
Nanosensors pertaining to the sub-branch optics (Section 1.3.8) of physics (Section 1.3) are grouped under optical nanosensors (NSs). These are devices in which principally optical phenomena are used for determining (detecting and quantifying) the excitation signal. Examples are changes in refractive index, absorbance, reflectance, color effects, photoluminescence, chemiluminescence, fluorescence, etc. Optical NSs are ultra-advanced analytical tools that bring together the advantages of customary sensor technology with the flexibility of using dissolved indicators. They are defined as devices with dimensions smaller than 1000 nm that have the capability to continuously monitor chemical or biological parameters ...
