Nanochannels for electrical biosensing

•Recent trends on the use of single and array nanochannels for electrical biosensing.•General considerations on the principles of the stochastic sensing.•Overview about the common routes for nanochannels preparation.•DNA, protein, virus, toxin and other analytes detection.•Prospects for future improvements and applications of this technology.

This review shows the recent trends on the use of both single and array nanochannels for electrical biosensing applications. Some general considerations on the principles of the stochastic sensing, together with an overview about the common routes for nanochannels preparation before focusing on the applications for DNA, protein, virus, toxin and other analytes detection are given. Emerging materials used to obtain nanochannels, such as graphene and its analogues as well as novel systems based on the use of nanoparticles in combination with nanochannels are discussed. Aspects related to the analytical performance of the developed devices are also discussed. Finally prospects for future improvements and applications of this technology are included.