Room-temperature ionic liquid-based electrochemical nanobiosensors

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have proved to be excellent materials for applications in electrochemistry. We review progress in constructing high-performance electrochemical biosensors. We also discuss:•different modified electrodes based on RTILs for biosensing applications;•different routes for enzyme biosensing based on RTIL-modified electrodes;•incorporation of biorecognition elements into RTIL-based electrodes;•electroanalytical applications of RTIL-based modified electrodes; and,•recent developments in which the advantages of ILs as a medium for biosensing were realized.We also summarize the latest developments in the applications of RTIL-based electrochemical biosensors in ultrasensitive detection of biological entities, especially nucleic acids and proteins. We review different types of RTIL-based electrochemical biosensors (e.g., based on enzymes, proteins and nucleic acids) in terms of their sensing performance and potential for future development.

► We classify the different types of ionic liquid. ► Recent advances in room-temperature ionic liquid-based electrochemical biosensing. ► Applications of room-temperature ionic liquid-based electrochemical biosensing. ► Room-temperature ionic liquids underpin development of electrochemical biosensors.