Next-Generation Biosensors for Cancer Biomarker Detection: A Comparative Analysis of Optical, Electrochemical, Piezoelectric, and Nanotechnology-Driven Platform

Carcinomaembryonic antigen (CEA) is an important biomarker that has been broadly used in cancer diagnosis, including colorectal, gastric, lung and breast cancers. The development of next-generation CEA detection platforms has greatly benefited from advanced nanomaterial-derived sensors. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) structures with noble metals including gold and silver, and 2D material hybrid layers such as graphene, (Molybdenum Disulfide) MoS₂, (Tungsten Disulfide) WS₂, and (Nickel)Ni, show significantly improvement with the resonance stability and the biomolecule interaction. In addition, the enhanced surface functionalization of Nanomaterials (NM), such as alloy structures, multilayer heterojunction, and graphene-based composite, made CEA antibodies and aptamers well immobilized. Such various material inclusions enable label-free, real-time detection, and provide microfabrication capability desirable for point-of-care testing. In summary, material-based sensor design strategies emphasize that the rational design of plasmonic metal NM, 2D materials and nanocomposites can enable the realization of sensitive CEA detection. These are the direction indicating new platforms for early diagnosis of cancer, which are sensitive, specific and bound to be clinically useful.