Early detection of emerging public health threats is very important to prevent long-term undesired e ff ects and reduce disease burden globally. Over the past decade, lateral fl ow based immuno- chromatographic tests or rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which are in general based on light scattering o ff surface-functionalized metallic nanoparticles, have emerged as a quick and cost-e ff ective method to screen various diseases providing complementary approaches to conventional medical prac- tices, such as clinical examination, micro- scopic analysis, and investigation. RDT technologies have since provided various advantages for tackling public health pro- blems including, but not limited to, more e ff ective tracking/monitoring of chronic con- ditions,infectiousdiseasesanddrugsofabuse in at-risk areas, and widespread medical test- ingbyminimallytrainedmedicalpersonnelor community healthcare workers.120