Sensors
and biosensors play a key role as an analytical tool for
the rapid, reliable, and early diagnosis of human diseases. Such devices
can also be employed for monitoring environmental pollutants in air
and water in an expedited way. More recently, nanomaterials have been
proposed as an alternative in sensor fabrication to achieve gains
in performance in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, and portability.
In this direction, the use of cellulose nanomaterials (CNM), such
as cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), and
bacterial cellulose (BC), has experienced rapid growth in the fabrication
of varied types of sensors. The advantageous properties are related
to the supramolecular structures that form the distinct CNM, their
biocompatibility, and highly reactive functional groups that enable
surface functionalization. The CNM can be applied as hydrogels and
xerogels, thin films, nanopapers and other structures interesting
for sensor design. Besides, CNM can be combined with other materials
(e.g., nanoparticles, enzymes, carbon nanomaterials, etc.) and varied
substrates to advanced sensors and biosensors fabrication. This review
explores recent advances on CNM and composites applied in the fabrication
of optical, electrical, electrochemical, and piezoelectric sensors
for detecting analytes ranging from environmental pollutants to human
physiological parameters. Emphasis is given to how cellulose nanomaterials
can contribute to enhance the performance of varied sensors as well
as expand novel sensing applications, which could not be easily achieved
using standard materials. Finally, challenges and future trends on
the use of cellulose-based materials in sensors and biosensors are
also discussed.