Electrocatalytic (bio)platforms for the determination of tetracyclines

Abstract

Due to their widespread use in veterinary medicine, the presence of tetracyclines (TCs) and their metabolites in foodstuffs from treated animal represents a growing concern for human health and nutrition and, therefore, many countries have established maximum levels for their presence in foods. The compliance with these legislations requires sensitive and selective methods for the determination of this antibiotics’ family in different matrices. In this sense, electrochemical sensors and biosensors are competitive methodologies versus other approaches commonly used for this purpose such as chromatography and ELISA methods, mainly in terms of low-cost equipment, minimal sample treatment, reduced turnaround time, and compatibility with multiplexed and point-of-care determinations. With this background in mind, this article reviews in a general but comprehensive way recent contributions of electrochemical (bio)sensors developed for the determination of TCs and applied to TC analysis in environmental samples, food, and biological matrices. The highlighted representative methods show the key role played both by the materials (mostly nanomaterials and polymers) employed to impart surface electrocatalytic properties and significant signal amplification, and by different (bio)receptors to provide electrochemical sensing with the sensitivity and selectivity demanded by the determination of TCs in environmental, clinical, and food samples. Main challenges to overcome and future prospects to turn over all the benefits of these simple, rapid, sensitive, selective, and cost effective electroanalytical (bio)tools in single or multiplexed TCs analysis, even at decentralized settings and after minimal sample treatment, are also pointed out.