Progress of optical biosensors for analyzing pathogens and organic pollutants in water since 2015

Abstract

Water contamination by pathogens and organic pollutants is one of the major environmental problems that risk human health. Climate change with extreme weather can promote their prevalence in waters. Environmental monitoring of these pollutants in a fast, continuous, and accurate manner is of increasing demand, especially under the climate change context, but is challenged by their ubiquity and trace concentrations. Optical biosensing is one of the desired solutions owing to its rapid and accurate detection with high sensitivity. Principally, an optical biosensor recognizes these bioactive toxins and contaminants by tailored bioreceptors (e.g., aptamer, enzyme, and cells) and transduces the biological response to optical signals. Research efforts have been made on tailoring bioreceptors and enhancing signal transducing by nanoparticles. This study comprehensively reviewed the mechanisms of optical biosensing and the recent development of bioreceptors and nanomaterials on the enhancement for the rapid, easy, and accurate analysis of emerging contaminants in water. The advantages and challenges on sensitivity, selectivity, and durability of biosensors were discussed along with the opportunities and development strategies.

“Planning and management of water and water infrastructure under climate stress”

“…Specifically, aerobic granulation was found to be a promising biotechnology for sulfolane biodegradation and that sulfolane-degrading bacteria can reduce treatment times, topics that should be pursued for future research endeavours. Liu et al (2022) in "Progress of Optical Biosensors for Analysis of Pathogens and Organic Pollutants in Water since 2015" contend that contamination of water with pathogens and organic pollutants has been exacerbated by climate change and extreme weather events. Therefore, there is a growing need for rapid and continuous monitoring of pollutants with accuracy, especially in the context of climate change.…”

Optical Biosensor for Ochratoxin A Detection in Grains Using an Enzyme-Mediated Click Reaction and Polystyrene Nanoparticles

“…Optical biosensors have received intense scientific attention and offer promising applications in food safety, − environmental monitoring, , and biomedical diagnosis. , They convert biorecognition signals between analytes and molecular recognition elements into quantifiable optical signals, which are highly sensitive, rapid, precise, low-cost, and portable. Furthermore, with the development of nanomaterials, many advanced nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles, , quantum dots, , and two-dimensional materials have been used to improve the analytical performance of optical biosensors. , However, the challenges of synthesizing reproducible high-quality nanomaterials on a mass scale limit their applications in the real world .…”

“…Optical biosensors have received intense scientific attention and offer promising applications in food safety, 12−14 environmental monitoring, 15,16 and biomedical diagnosis. 17,18 They convert biorecognition signals between analytes and molecular recognition elements into quantifiable optical signals, which are highly sensitive, rapid, precise, low-cost, and portable.…”