Synthesis, properties and applications of DNA-templated copper nanoclusters in chemical and biological sensing

DNA-templated copper nanoclusters are such versatile nanomaterials that have attracted much attention in recent years due to their outstanding properties including versatility in various label-free chemical and biological assays and sensing mechanisms, low price, low toxicity, good biocompatibility, and Mega-Stokes shifts. However, the design of new sensing strategies for any analytes requires a comprehensive understanding of the already proposed assays. With this goal in mind, a systematic review of their properties, synthesis and applications in sensing is required. For this reason, an in-depth survey of the recent progress achieved by the most prominent works is provided here to address both the advantages and limitations of DNA-CuNCs in chemical and biological sensing and analysis. Future outlooks on potential developments and current challenges are also provided.