Plasmonic nanoparticle-integrated nanofibers: advancements in nanobiotechnology for biomedical applications

Background The fabrication of conductive plasmonic nanofibers by incorporating various plasmonic nanomaterials, such as gold, silver, and copper nanoparticles, for different biomedical applications has gained considerable interest from researchers worldwide, although extensive improvements are still required in this particular field. The versatility and true potential of plasmonic nanofibers are not only limited to biomedical applications, but can also be used for energy harvesting, food packaging, and sensing. Area covered This review focuses on three major types of plasmonic nanomaterial–nanomaterial-integrated polymeric nanofibers and highlights their recent significant findings. We also discuss the importance of plasmonic nanomaterials and their advantages in different biomedical applications. The physiological characteristics, advantages, sizes, shapes, and utilization of plasmonic nanofibers in different applications are discussed. We aim to offer new findings and insights into plasmonic nanofibers with major biomedical applications such as biosensing, therapeutics, and tissue engineering. Expert opinion Plasmonic polymeric nanofibers are fabricated by integrating plasmonic nanomaterials inside or on the surfaces of polymeric nanofibers. Plasmonic materials are easy to synthesize and can be easily surface-functionalized and bioconjugated with drug molecules as well as with other organic and non-organic materials. The incorporation of these nanomaterials led to the fabrication of plasmonic nanofibers, which are advantageous for many important biological applications. The incorporation of nanomaterials into nanofibers lowers the risk of cytotoxicity and enhances their biocompatibility, whereas the coating of plasmonic nanomaterials onto nanofibers significantly enhances the efficacy of the resulting nanofibers in bioengineering applications.