Stimulus-responsive hydrogels: A potent tool for biosensing in food safety

Abstract

Background: A stimulus-responsive hydrogel is a three-dimensional (3D) network structure gel with extremely hydrophilic properties, and its microstructure and chemical properties respond to changes in environmental conditions. The wide application and variety of stimulus-responsive hydrogels have aroused much research interest, especially in the development and manufacture of intelligent hydrogels. The biosensing ability of stimulus-responsive hydrogels in the field of food safety has also received extensive attention in recent years. Scope and approach: Herein, the beneficial qualities and advantages of stimulus-responsive hydrogels were explored by discussing their various application types. The potentials of stimulus-responsive hydrogels in intelligent food detection systems were analyzed by combining their advantages and characteristics, such as stimulus responsiveness, water retention, toughness, controllability, sensitiveness, and low cost. Key findings and conclusions: Stimulus-responsive hydrogels can react to an external environment (including light, pH, temperature, and electricity), which is directly tied to their exceptional characteristics. Different stimulus-responsive hydrogels have various functioning mechanisms in the detection of food safety, which is convenient to provide fast, economical, extremely sensitive, and professional detection technologies, showing considerable application potential.