A Comprehensive Review on Functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles for Fluorescence Properties and Potential in Biosensing and Water Remediation

The most anticipated functionalized graphene oxide (fGO) agitates the scientific community due to its manifold applications. The fGO offers untapped potential for cross‐disciplinary research areas. This review systematically examines graphene oxide (GO) ’s targeted functionalization that tailors its fluorescence and adsorption properties. It explores two applications: ultrasensitive biosensing and high‐efficiency water purification of pollutants. This analysis highlights fGO's dual functionality of quenching‐based detection and contaminant removal. For this, the mechanical, chemical, and electrochemical properties of fGO are improved by functionalization and conjugation with other molecules, such as dyes, fluorophores, antibodies, biopolymers, peptides, and aptamers. Complex interactions with specific biological receptors and cellular components are made possible by integrating target ligands on the GO surface. This increases the specificity and selectivity of diagnostic interventions. However, the key challenges remain, such as multisensory design, real‐world sample interference, and scalable fabrication, that must be addressed while engineering fGO designs. This contemporary review lays the foundation for a new aptamer‐based fGO system to guide future research in material design and suggests machine learning incorporation in sensing chemistry.