Bacteriophage-Based Biosensor for Detection of E. coli Bacteria on Graphene Modified Carbon Paste Electrode

Recent advances and challenges in graphene-based electrochemical biosensors for food safety

Ensuring food safety is a critical global concern, particularly in light of recent pandemics and rising contamination risks from pesticides, antibiotics, toxins, and allergens. These contaminants pose significant health hazards, including neurological disorders, endocrine disruption, antibiotic resistance, and carcinogenic effects. Regulatory agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have established strict maximum residue limits (MRLs) to mitigate these risks. However, enforcement remains challenging due to limitations in current detection methods. The increasing global population and limited food resources have exacerbated food security challenges, while contaminants can infiltrate food at various stages, including production, processing, and packaging. Despite consumer awareness, significant amounts of food are discarded due to quality concerns. To address these issues, researchers are actively developing low-cost, reliable sensing technologies for real-time food quality assessment and contamination detection. Among these, graphene-based electrochemical biosensors have emerged as a promising solution due to their high sensitivity, selectivity, and cost-effectiveness. This review provides an in-depth analysis of recent advancements in graphene-based electrochemical biosensors, focusing on their role in detecting foodborne hazards and improving food quality monitoring. By integrating selective layers, these sensors enhance detection efficiency and provide an innovative solution for safeguarding public health. The findings underscore the transformative potential of graphene-derived biosensors in food safety diagnostics, paving the way for more reliable and sustainable food monitoring systems.

Urinary tract infections: a review of the current diagnostics landscape

Urinary tract infections are the most common bacterial infections worldwide. Infections can range from mild, recurrent (rUTI) to complicated (cUTIs), and are predominantly caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). Antibiotic therapy is important to tackle infection; however, with the continued emergence of antibiotic resistance there is an urgent need to monitor the use of effective antibiotics through better stewardship measures. Currently, clinical diagnosis of UTIs relies on empiric methods supported by laboratory testing including cellular analysis (of both human and bacterial cells), dipstick analysis and phenotypic culture. Therefore, development of novel, sensitive and specific diagnostics is an important means to rationalise antibiotic therapy in patients. This review discusses the current diagnostic landscape and highlights promising novel diagnostic technologies in development that could aid in treatment and management of antibiotic-resistant UTIs.

Graphene biosensors for bacterial and viral pathogens

The infection and spread of pathogens (e.g., COVID-19) pose an enormous threat to the safety of human beings and animals all over the world. The rapid and accurate monitoring and determination of pathogens are of great significance to clinical diagnosis, food safety and environmental evaluation. In recent years, with the evolution of nanotechnology, nano-sized graphene and graphene derivatives have been frequently introduced into the construction of biosensors due to their unique physicochemical properties and biocompatibility. The combination of biomolecules with specific recognition capabilities and graphene materials provides a promising strategy to construct more stable and sensitive biosensors for the detection of pathogens. This review tracks the development of graphene biosensors for the detection of bacterial and viral pathogens, mainly including the preparation of graphene biosensors and their working mechanism. The challenges involved in this field have been discussed, and the perspective for further development has been put forward, aiming to promote the development of pathogens sensing and the contribution to epidemic prevention.