Review—Recent Advances in the Development of Nanoporous Au for Sensing Applications

Abstract

In the fields of medicine, environmental protection, and food safety, sensors are imperative for the detection of biomarkers, contaminants, and preservatives. The use of nanoporous gold (NPG) as a sensing platform may greatly enhance performance due to its stability, high surface area, and catalytic abilities. There are many methods reported in the literature for fabricating NPG, including chemical strategies and various electrochemical techniques. The primarily use of NPG in sensing applications may be classified into three categories: electrochemical, bioelectrochemical, and optical. Although both electrochemical and bioelectrochemical sensors are based on the electrical signal produced by a specific analyte, a biological recognition element is involved in the bioelectrochemical sensing process. On the other hand, optical sensors exploit NPG through unique surface plasmon resonance properties that can be monitored by UV-Vis, Raman, or fluorescence spectroscopy. For this review, the primary strategies for fabricating NPG, including dealloying, electrochemical, and dynamic hydrogen bubble template (DHBT), are discussed. In addition, advances made over the last decade towards the detection of biomarkers, pollutants, contaminants, and food additives are highlighted. The future development of NPG based sensors for medical, environmental, and food safety applications is discussed.