Smartphone-based biosensors: A critical review and perspectives

• Smartphones' ubiquitous distribution and international connectivity is changing the concept of mobile health.
• Smartphones are exploited as both portable detectors and instrumental interfaces.
• Smartphone-based devices have great potential as point-of-care platforms for healthcare, food safety, environmental monitoring, and biosecurity.

The ubiquitous distribution and international connectivity of smartphones is changing the concept of mobile health and promising to reshape the biosensor market. Smartphone-based biosensors have been explored using different approaches, either using the smartphone as detector or as instrumental interface. Smartphone-based biosensors have great potential as point-of-care and point-of-need platforms for healthcare, food safety, environmental monitoring, and biosecurity, especially in remote and rural areas. Here, we critically review the most recent papers on the use of smartphones as analytical devices and biosensors. We focus on analytical performance and on prospects for commercialization.