Advances in optical nanopore sensors for high-sensitivity single-molecule detection

Optical nanopores combine plasmonic nanoantennas with solid-state nanopores to concentrate light at the nanoscale and generate highly localized electromagnetic fields near the nanopores. When analytes transport through an optical nanopore, it generates both electrical and optical signals, offering complementary improvements in sensing performance. In recent years, optical nanopores have become a promising frontier in single-molecule analysis. This review first describes the physical phenomena and detection principles of optical nanopores. The design and fabrication strategies for both single and multi-optical nanopore structures are then comprehensively presented. Furthermore, recent progress in the application of optical nanopores for the detection of biomolecules, organic molecules, and other analytes is summarized, and the performance and applicable scenarios of different approaches are compared. Finally, current challenges in detection performance and device fabrication are discussed, and future directions toward multimodal sensing, high-throughput platforms, and AI-enabled optical nanopore systems are outlined.