Surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) based on Metasurface: Principles, biochemical sensing applications, and future perspective

As a powerful analytical technique, surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) typically employs periodic nanostructured arrays to generate highly localized and intense electromagnetic near-field enhancements. Infrared vibrations of target sensing molecules located in these periodic nanostructured fields are enhanced by orders of magnitude enabling a spectroscopic characterization with unprecedented sensitivity. This remarkable enhancement effect enables SEIRA to overcome the inherent limitations of conventional infrared spectroscopy, particularly the small molecular absorption cross-sections. Owing to its superior performance characteristics, SEIRA has found extensive applications in biological and chemical sensing domains. This review begins with a concise overview of the historical development and fundamental basis of SEIRA technology. Subsequently, we discuss the underlying principles and mechanisms of metal and dielectric metasurfaces in SEIRA applications. Following these fundamentals, different applications based on SEIRA chemical sensors and biosensors for various target analytes are reviewed. Finally, the current challenges and prospects of SEIRA in biochemical detection are presented, highlighting potential strategies to expand its application scope.