Electrochemical biosensors: The beacon for food safety and quality

Somayeh Hosseinikebria; Masoud Khazaei; Muamer Dervisevic; Mia Angela Judicpa; Junfei Tian; Joselito M Razal; Nicolas Hans Voelcker; Azadeh Nilghaz

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.143284

Electrochemical biosensors: The beacon for food safety and quality

Food Chem. 2025 May 30:475:143284. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.143284. Epub 2025 Feb 9.

Authors

Somayeh Hosseinikebria¹, Masoud Khazaei², Muamer Dervisevic², Mia Angela Judicpa¹, Junfei Tian³, Joselito M Razal¹, Nicolas Hans Voelcker⁴, Azadeh Nilghaz⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia.
² Drug Delivery, Disposition, and Dynamics, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Victorian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia.
³ State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China.
⁴ Drug Delivery, Disposition, and Dynamics, Monash University, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Victorian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia; Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia.
⁵ Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia; Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Victorian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia. Electronic address: a.nilghaz@monash.edu.

PMID: 39956060
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.143284

Abstract

Electrochemical biosensors transduce chemical reactions into measurable electrical signals by incorporating recognition components. Although they are capable of detecting a broad range of target molecules, their application in complex matrices, such as food, at minimum or no sample preparation, is challenging and requires the introduction of innovative and effective strategies. This review explores the recent advances in electrochemical biosensors for on-site food safety and quality analysis. We first discuss the presence of chemical contaminants and biohazards in food and the need for robust, rapid, low-cost, and point-of-care (POC) analytical techniques. We then address the critical aspects of sensitivity and selectivity of electrochemical biosensors in detecting chemical and biological contaminants in real food samples. We finally investigate the major drawbacks of these biosensors and provide future perspectives on the field.

Keywords: Biohazards; Biosensors; Chemical contaminants; Electrochemical detection; Food safety.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biosensing Techniques* / instrumentation
Biosensing Techniques* / methods
Electrochemical Techniques* / instrumentation
Electrochemical Techniques* / methods
Food Analysis / instrumentation
Food Analysis / methods
Food Contamination* / analysis
Food Quality
Food Safety*
Humans