In the quest to decipher the chain of life from molecules to cells, the biological and biophysical questions being asked increasingly demand techniques that are capable of identifying specific biomolecules in their native environment, and can measure biomolecular interactions quantitatively, at the smallest possible scale in space and time, without perturbing the system under observation. The interaction of light with biomolecules offers a wealth of phenomena and tools that can be exploited to drive this progress. This Roadmap is written collectively by prominent researchers and encompasses selected aspects of bio-nano-photonics, spanning from the development of optical micro/nano-spectroscopy technologies for quantitative bioimaging and biosensing to the fundamental understanding of light–matter interaction phenomena with biomolecules at the nanoscale. It will be of interest to a wide cross-disciplinary audience in the physical sciences and life sciences.

为了破译从分子到细胞的生命链，所提出的生物学和生物物理学问题越来越需要能够识别其原生环境中特定生物分子的技术，并且可以在尽可能小的空间尺度上定量测量生物分子相互作用和时间，而不会扰乱被观察的系统。光与生物分子的相互作用提供了大量可用于推动这一进展的现象和工具。本路线图由著名研究人员共同编写，涵盖生物纳米光子学的选定方面，从用于定量生物成像和生物传感的光学微/纳米光谱技术的发展到对纳米级生物分子的光-物质相互作用现象的基本理解。它将引起物理科学和生命科学领域广泛的跨学科受众的兴趣。