Recent advances in additive manufacturing for nanosensors: a review of fabrication techniques, nanomaterial integration, and biomedical applications

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) plays a key role in fabricating micro and nanosensors because it can produce intricate shapes that are challenging to fabricate with conventional methods. AM offers unparalleled design flexibility and precision, particularly in the fields of diagnostics, health monitoring, and personalized medicine. Its layer-by-layer fabrication approach enables the precise integration of functional materials and the tailored sensor architecture at micro and nano scales, which is crucial for next-generation biomedical applications. This review explores recent advancements in AM techniques for sensor fabrication, integration of nanomaterials, and their diverse biomedical applications. Various AM techniques such as stereolithography, selective laser sintering, and direct ink writing are discussed, highlighting their capabilities in producing intricate sensor structures. The paper discusses various fabrication methods, highlights nanomaterial integration strategies, and examines the biomedical applications of these sensors. Overall, it provides insights into the state-of-the-art in AM for micro and nanosensors, with implications for future developments in this field.