Dynamic Tracking of Biological Processes Using Near-Infrared Fluorescent Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Biological processes are characterized by dynamic and elaborate temporal patterns driven by the interplay of genes, proteins, and cellular components that are crucial for adaptation to changing environments. This complexity spans from molecular to organismal scales, necessitating their real-time monitoring and tracking to unravel the active processes that fuel living systems and enable early disease detection, personalized medicine, and drug development. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), with their unique physicochemical and optical properties, have emerged as promising tools for real-time tracking of such processes. This perspective highlights the key properties of SWCNTs that make them ideal for such monitoring. Subsequently, it surveys studies utilizing SWCNTs to track dynamic biological phenomena across hierarchical levels─from molecules to cells, tissues, organs, and whole organisms─acknowledging their pivotal role in advancing this field. Finally, the review outlines challenges and future directions, aiming to expand the frontier of real-time biological monitoring using SWCNTs, contributing to deeper insights and novel applications in biomedicine.