Development of biosensor technologies for analysis of environmental contaminants

• A comprehensive survey of the biosensors developed for environmental contaminants is presented.
• This review includes definition, classification and detection principle of biosensors.
• Details of the recent works are given from four aspects of recognition elements.
• We discuss the future trends, limitations and challenges of biosensors for environmental applications.

Recent developments of biosensor technologies for environmental applications are reviewed in this article. Biosensors offer simple, rapid, sensitive and selective detection method for analysis of environmental contaminants mainly including phenols, heavy metals, toxins, pesticides and other organic pollutants. Biosensors, which are usually classified according to the biorecognition elements, e.g., enzyme, DNA, antibody and whole-cell, are discussed respectively. Several examples of their applications for determination of environmental contaminants are reviewed. Special attention will be paid to novel biosensing systems based on new sensing elements and transduction principles. In addition, we present the beneficial use of nanomaterials in constructing biosensors. Finally, a general overview is provided about the future trends, the limitations and challenges in this field.