Light-addressable potentiometric sensors: principles, strategies, and applications.

Light-addressable potentiometric sensors (LAPS) provide a promising strategy for quantitative and spatially resolved detection of chemical biomarkers and electrophysiological signals in biological tissues. This review describes the working principles of LAPS, discusses key design considerations, and summarizes recent progress from the perspectives of semiconductor devices, sensing interfaces, and configurable illumination systems. Representative applications of LAPS in chemical imaging and electrophysiological detection are further reviewed, including pH mapping, ion detection, enzyme- and aptamer-based sensing, extracellular monitoring in microfluidic systems, and electrophysiological recordings from single cells, organoids, and in vivo tissues. Finally, current challenges and future directions are discussed to highlight the potential of LAPS for advanced biosensing and imaging applications. By comprehensively reviewing key aspects of LAPS and its applications, we aim to provide practical guidance for future biomedical research and global health initiatives.