Electrochemical sensors targeting salivary biomarkers: A comprehensive review

Abstract

The analysis of salivary markers has grown into a promising non-invasive route for easy, safe, and pain-free monitoring and has the potential to alter the existing way of clinical diagnosis and management. Advancements in sensing technology, the arrival of novel materials, the innovative fabrication technologies, and sampling accuracy have made significant progress and establishing saliva as a fluid for routine analysis. Salivary biomarkers are useful to diagnose not only cardiovascular diseases, bacterial or viral infections but also cancer, diabetes, or Alzheimer's disease. In addition, saliva is analyzed in toxicology, forensic medicine and drug abuse. Electrochemical assays and sensors are well accepted tools because they allow for fast and cost-effective analysis. Nanomaterials, microfluidics, smartphones, paper-based, flexible and wearable devices have made significant advancements in saliva analysis. This review discusses the recent progress made in electrochemical methodologies for detecting salivary biomarkers.