Developments in nanoparticles for use in biosensors to assess food safety and quality

•Background to the evolution of biosensor based on nanoparticles.•Application of nanoparticles in biosensor devices.•Overview of biosensor formats applied in food testing.•Examples of integrated biosensor systems for food sampling.•Prospects and challenges in nanosensors in pathogen testing.

The following will provide an overview on how advances in nanoparticle technology have contributed towards developing biosensors to screen for safety and quality markers associated with foods. The novel properties of nanoparticles will be described and how such characteristics have been exploited in sensor design will be provided. All the biosensor formats were initially developed for the health care sector to meet the demand for point-of-care diagnostics. As a consequence, research has been directed towards miniaturization thereby reducing the sample volume to nanolitres. However, the needs of the food sector are very different which may ultimately limit commercial application of nanoparticle based nanosensors.