Abstract
Carbon-based nanomaterials have become the subject of intensive interest because their intriguing physical and chemical properties are different from those of their bulk counterparts, leading to novel applications in smart sensors. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites with different structures and toxic effects produced by fungi. Mycotoxins have low molecular weights and highly diverse molecular structures, which can induce a spectrum of biological effects in humans and animals even at low concentrations. A tremendous amount of biosensor platforms based on various carbon nanocomposites have been developed for the determination of mycotoxins. Therefore, the contents of this review are based on a balanced combination of our own studies and selected research studies performed by academic groups worldwide. We first address the vital preparation methods of biorecognition unit (antibodies, aptamers, molecularly imprinted polymers)-functionalized carbon-based nanomaterials for sensing mycotoxins. Then, we summarize various types of smart sensors for the detection of mycotoxins. We expect future research on smart sensors to show a significant impact on the detection of mycotoxins in food products.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Biosensors based on electrochemical measurements usually depend on the investigation of active reactions that generate a measurable current, potential change, or impedance generated from conductance change, and these changes can be read by cyclic voltammetry (CV), Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), photoelectrochemical (PEC), and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) analysis, respectively [121]
This review was organized to describe the integration of biorecognition units and carbon nanomaterials (CNMs)/carbon-based nanocomposites in smart sensors for the ultratrace identification and quantification of mycotoxins in various samples
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. There are immunological methods, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunochromatography (ICA) [7,8,9,10] These analytical methods are sensitive and selective towards mycotoxin detection, they normally require expensive instruments, sophisticated operation, complex preprocessing, and large time. Carbon nanomaterials have their own unique advantages, such as a high specific surface area, excellent electrical transmission ability, good biocompatibility, and easy functionalization, has and they have become promising materials for the detection of mycotoxins [17,18,19,20,21]. The present review first introduces various carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) and their functionalization by surface structures and different biorecognition units, such as antibodies, aptamers, and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), for the detection of mycotoxins.
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