Advances in the Electrochemical Detection of Antibiotics: Modified Materials, Wearable Sensors, and Future Prospects

Abstract

Highlights: This review highlights advances in electrochemical sensors for antibiotic detection, focusing on innovative materials like MOFs, COFs and quantum dots that enhance sensitivity and detection limits. It discusses wearable sensors for real-time clinical and food safety monitoring via smartphone integration, and emphasizes nanocomposite synthesis and sensor miniaturization for rapid, low-cost antibiotic residue analysis. What are the main findings? Advanced materials (MOFs, COFs, quantum dots) enhance electrochemical sensors’ sensitivity, selectivity, and detection limits for antibiotics. Wearable sensors enable real-time antibiotic monitoring in clinical/food safety via smartphone integration. What is the implication of the main finding? Enhanced materials improve rapid, low-cost detection of antibiotic residues in environment/food. Wearable/smartphone-integrated sensors revolutionize on-site monitoring, reducing human exposure risks. Antibiotics, valued for their remarkable efficacy, are widely employed across diverse domains. However, their rampant overuse has precipitated severe environmental and health crises, necessitating the development of efficient techniques for rapid and selective antibiotic detection. Electrochemical detection has emerged as a highly promising approach, offering unmatched advantages such as cost-effectiveness, speed, and reliability. The field has witnessed significant advancements through the innovation of advanced electrode modification materials. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent progress in the development and application of modified materials for antibiotic detection. Furthermore, the increasing need for real-time monitoring has spurred the development of wearable electrochemical sensors, which are revolutionizing applications in human health and food safety. Looking ahead, future research is poised to focus on synthesizing nanocomposites with superior electrochemical properties and advancing the miniaturization of sensors, promising transformative practical applications in antibiotic detection.