Harnessing host–guest chemistry for electrochemical sensing in complex matrices

Abstract

Amid increasing demands for modernizing cumbersome and laboratory-bound analytical approaches, researchers are developing generalizable electrochemical sensing alternatives for point-of-need applications that are analogous to the glucometer. For this, integrating host–guest chemistry in electrochemical sensors represents an increasingly attractive strategy due to the vast library of host molecules and the ease with which they could be substituted for measuring different guest molecules. In response, we briefly explore the different signal transduction mechanisms (i.e., non-faradaic and faradaic) that enable electrochemical host–guest sensing. We describe the various advantages and shortcomings of the different approaches with hopes that this review will stimulate innovation toward the development of commercialized electrochemical devices relying on host–guest chemistry amenable at the point-of-need.