Recent advances in optical biosensors for the detection of cancer biomarker α-fetoprotein (AFP)

alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a target marker refers to albuminoid proteins, which is a tumor-related fetal protein, increasing the AFP concentration leads to various diseases, including liver cancer. Therefore, it is essential to develop fast, ultrasensitive and selective methods for early detection at trace levels. Several biosensing platforms have been developed concerning this purpose. The novel optical biosensors is developing as one of the most effective methods. The visibility of the target marker without employing any costly tools makes optical detection better than other methods. So, this review throws light on the role of this novel biosensors to the early detection of AFP, which is important in cancer diagnoses. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.