Editorial [Hot Topic: Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology for DNA Detection (Guest Editor: Martin Pumera)]

I take great pleasure in offering to the readers of Current Physical Chemistry this special issue on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology in DNA detection. DNA detection is of considerable importance in view of various applications in, e.g., biomedical and forensic contexts. In current post polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [please specify what this acronym stands for] era, the main focus is on highly selective and sensitive methods for DNA detection. The ideal devices should be portable, easy to use, and disposable. To achieve such goals, new smart materials and procedures must be developed. The papers of this special issue bear state-of-the art accounts of DNA detection, and they were contributed by expert scientists active in laboratories located in Europe, Japan and the US. I wish to thank all the authors for their excellent contributions, as well as the referees for their tremendous effort and for helping the present Guest Editor to select these papers and to improve their final quality.