Interestingly, ssDNA-SWCNT hybrid sensors responded to both, the substrate (PPD) and the reaction product (BB) (Figure ). Furthermore, they were more sensitive than SWCNTs modified with PEG-PL. For PPD, first effects were seen at concentrations > 2.5 nM and the response saturated at concentrations of 2.5 µM, thereby spanning approximately three orders of magnitude. For BB, dose-dependent effects were observed > 50 nM while 5 µM quenched the fluorescence almost completely. Compared to the read-out in the visible (only BB detectable) this shift the detection limit to approximately 50x lower concentrations. Interestingly, we observed a non-linear dependency between the responses generated with the classical and the NIR translated read-out. Due to the different magnitudes for PEG-PL-and DNA-modified sensors, we hypothesized that this dependency is based on the affinity of the substrate/product for the nanosensor. We call this mechanism sensor-based signal amplification and translation (SENSAT). It should be generic for any fluorescent material or molecule with a certain affinity for the analyte. Hence, we were interested to better understand the magnitude of amplification. To this end, we normalized the response generated by the nanosensor and the absorption read-out (Figure , Figure ). To be able to compare the different signals, both data sets were normalized (see SI for details). As expected from Lambert-Beer's law, the absorption data can be accurately described with a linear equation (Table ).