Dear Colleagues,

Application of plasmonic effects for the detection and recognition of biological and chemical molecules and nanoscale measurements of physical processes and properties are one of the prime research topics of metallic nanostructures. The primary goals, not only include development of novel mechanisms that can offer ultrahigh sensitivities, short reaction times, and multiplexing capability, but also include the creation of practical and reliable technology that can utilize the potentials of plasmonic sensors in real-life situations and in harsh environments.  Current research has shown ultrahigh sensitivities combined with significant figure of merits, reaching the limit of single molecule detection.  Investigation of novel material systems has offered novel functionalities and capabilities for plasmonic nanosensors, promising selective detection of biological and chemical agents at different wavelength ranges, from visible to infrared. Control and optimization of shapes and sizes of metallic nanoantennas, nanoscale metallic features, such as nanoholes, and plasmonic metastructures have provided a wealth of opportunities that can create a horizon for plasmonic nanosensors, revolutionizing clinical diagnostics, early detection of diseases, societal defense and security. In addition to localized and propagating surface plasmons, extensive research is currently devoted towards application of collective states associated with plasmonic and photonic modes or surface lattice resonances in arrays of metallic nanoantennas to improve figure of merit and sensitivities of nanosensors. Significant research is also focused on hybrid structures consisting of metallic nanostructures and graphene, semiconductor quantum dots, polymers, etc. These offer ultrasensitive signal transduction methods and new techniques for enhanced defection systems. The road map toward development of fundamental physics of sensing also includes application of quantum coherence. The goal here is to utilize quantum mechanical processes to introduce novel sensors that can support unconventional means of signal transduction and sensing techniques.

The goal of this Special Issue is to bring together various on-going and frontier research regarding development of fundamental sciences, techniques, and end-of-use applications of plasmonic nanosensors. The areas of interest include materials, novel transduction techniques, metamaterial-based nanosensors, nanoscale metallic structures, and hybrid structures that use classical or quantum mechanical processes. Contributions can include design, synthesis and fundamental sciences related to chemical, clinical, physical, biological and light detection.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Plasmonic Nanosensors
• Biosensors
• Metallic Nanostructures
• Biological Sensors
• Surface Lattice Resonances
• Quantum Sensors
• Metallic Nanoantennas
• Metallic Nanoparticles
• Arrays
• Collective Excitations