Nanopipettes, characterized by nanoscale sized pores and simple fabrication techniques, are of increasing scientific interest due to their application in a variety of fields, including analytical chemistry, nanophysiology, molecular diagnostics, and cellular biology. Nanopipettes have been extensively used for the development of electrochemical biosensors, as they offer the combined advantage of nanoscale dimensions and the selectivity and sensitivity of conventional solid-state biosensors. Over the years, with advances in technology and the expansion of research interests, functionalized nanopipettes have been successfully employed for performing real-time quantitative measurement of changes within a single cell. They have also been routinely used to aspirate/inject attoliter to picoliter volumes at intracellular levels and have become the “go-to” tools for cutting-edge research in molecular and cell biology. The use of nanopipettes as probes for imaging soft materials through scanning probe microscope (SPM) techniques such as scanning electrochemical microscopy and scanning ion-conductance microscopy has been widely explored. Advances in both the technical and theoretical aspects of nanopipette technology have a profound impact on early diagnosis and treatment of various diseases including cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. In this review, we provide insights into the fabrication, morphological, and electrochemical characterization of the nanopipette and comprehensively discuss the various applications available in the literature of nanopipettes as sensing probes, monitoring probes for single cells, and SPMs.

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纳米移液器——过去和现在

纳米移液管的特点是具有纳米级尺寸的孔和简单的制造技术，由于它们在分析化学、纳米生理学、分子诊断和细胞生物学等多个领域中的应用，其科学兴趣日益增加。纳米移液管已被广泛用于电化学生物传感器的开发，因为它们提供了纳米级尺寸和传统固态生物传感器的选择性和灵敏度的综合优势。多年来，随着技术的进步和研究兴趣的扩大，功能化纳米移液管已成功用于对单个细胞内的变化进行实时定量测量。它们还经常用于在细胞内水平抽吸/注射阿托升至皮升体积，并已成为分子和细胞生物学前沿研究的“首选”工具。使用纳米移液管作为探针通过扫描探针显微镜 (SPM) 技术（如扫描电化学显微镜和扫描离子电导显微镜）对软材料进行成像已得到广泛探索。纳米移液管技术在技术和理论方面的进步对包括癌症、糖尿病和阿尔茨海默氏症在内的各种疾病的早期诊断和治疗产生了深远的影响。在这篇综述中，我们提供了对制造、形态、