3. Conclusion
Conventional methods for diagnosis of Brucella infections may need expensive laboratory equipment, long time to achieve the final results and skilled personnel to interpret them. Therefore, efforts are being made to develop new diagnostic methods with improved characteristics. Utilization of biosensors can be considered as one of those promising approaches in this case. Among different types of biosensors, optical biosensors, seem to be appropriate choices for detection of Brucellaregarding their advantages including high sensitivity and specificity, shorter detection time, and ease of application without the need for dedicated equipment. When conjugated with nanoparticles, these benefits are extended particularly in colormetric methods. In this regard, gold nanoparticles are mainly employed in colorimetric immunoassays but their high cost and short lifetime prevent them from being utilized in laboratories. However, magnetic and silica nanoparticles have advantages like simple synthesis and cheap production and they can be employed in optical biosensors to introduce efficient methods for rapid, simple, and easy detection of Brucella in different types of samples. Such quick and proper optical methods can also be applied to identify other infectious bacteria.