Contemporary Advances in Optical Nanoparticle-Enhanced Lateral Flow Immunoassays for Rapid Bacterial Detection Publisher



Safari M ; Maghsoudi AS ; Sadeghzadeh M ; Mirmotahari SA ; Hassani S ; Amini M
Source: Nanomedicine Research Journal Published:2025

Abstract

The advancement of precise diagnostic tools is crucial for the prompt identification of bacterial pathogens and combating the increasing issue of antimicrobial resistance. Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA) has emerged as an effective and promising point-of-care testing (POCT) approach, playing a distinctive role in biomedical sciences, food safety, agriculture and infectious disease diagnostics due to its ease of use, high speed, portability and cost-effectiveness. Utilizing on a paper-based platform and functionalized nanoparticle probes, this technique is capable of identifying a broad spectrum of analytes, such, as whole bacterial cells, nucleic acids, proteins and pathogen-specific biomarkers. Lately, the application of new types of optical nanoparticles, such as quantum dots (QDs) and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) has dramatically improved the sensitivity, specificity and signal resolution of LFIA-based diagnostic strips. This review article outlines the fundamental principles and key components of LFIAs, highlights recent progress in the design and types of nanoparticles, and performance optimization of these systems for the rapid and specific detection of pathogenic bacteria. Finally, it discusses current challenges and future prospects of this technology in the field of clinical diagnostics and point-of-care analysis. © 2025 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.