Live cell biosensing platforms using graphene-based hybrid nanomaterials

A novel strategy to precisely detect or monitor various biomaterials in living cells poses paramount importance in understanding cellular processes. Graphene, a newly emerged two-dimensional carbon material, has been widely utilized for biosensors owing to its multifarious characteristics including mechanical, electrical, and optical properties (e.g. stability, conductivity, fluorescence quenching and photoluminescence). In addition, graphene derivatives and their innate characteristics, such as biocompatibility low cytotoxicity and water solubility have facilitated the use of graphene-based materials for live cell biosensing, wherein graphene is utilized as a core material by itself or in combination with other functional nanomaterials to load target-specific probes, fluorescent dyes, and other signaling molecules. Such graphene-based hybrid nanomaterials have been employed to detect various cellular entities in living cells, including ions, biomolecules, genetic molecules, proteins, enzymes, and even whole cells. The following review will discuss a number of previous studies in which graphene-based hybrid constructs were used for live cell biosensing, and their potential applications in cancer research and stem cell therapy.