Evanescent wave-based optical biosensors for innovations, medical application and future perspectives

Background: Evanescent wave (EW)-based optical biosensors have rapidly evolved into indispensable tools for real-time, non-invasive, and ultra-sensitive detection of biomolecular interactions. By enabling label-free analysis with unprecedented precision, they have significantly reshaped the landscape of clinical diagnostics and personalized medicine. In recent years, interdisciplinary innovations spanning materials science, nanotechnology, photonic integration, and microfluidics have propelled EW biosensors beyond their conventional roles, endowing them with capabilities that were once considered unattainable. Aim of review: This review aims to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of recent advances in EW-based biosensing technologies, with a particular emphasis on their transformative applications in the medical field. Specifically, it seeks to critically evaluate the progress achieved across major biosensor platforms and to explore how these innovations are bridging the gap between fundamental research and clinical translation. Key scientific concepts of review: The review systematically examines three representative EW biosensor platforms—surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors, silicon photonic sensors, and optical fiber sensors—highlighting their operating principles and recent breakthroughs. Innovations such as nanomaterial-enhanced sensitivity, chip-scale multiplexing, and portable point-of-care designs are pushing the boundaries of biosensing performance. Furthermore, emerging approaches, including seamless microfluidic integration and artificial intelligence-driven data interpretation, are recognized as essential for developing next-generation intelligent and autonomous biosensors. These advances collectively position EW biosensors to revolutionize precision diagnostics and enable real-time health monitoring, heralding a new era of biomedical science.