microRNA biosensors: Opportunities and challenges among conventional and commercially available techniques

•miRNAs as being biomarkers and therapeutics have been explained.•miRNA biosensors have been reviewed.•Commercially available methods have been discussed.•Comparison between different techniques have been done.

As being the most extensively studied, non-coding, evolutionary conserved, post-transcriptional gene regulators of genome, microRNAs (miRNAs) have taken great attention among various disciplines due to their important roles in biological processes and link with cancer. Due to their diagnostic value, there have been many conventional methods used in detection of miRNAs including northern blotting, quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) and microarray technology besides novel techniques based on various nanotechnology approaches and molecular biology tools including miRNA biosensors. The aim of this review is to explain the importance of miRNAs in biomedical field with an emphasis on early cancer diagnosis by overviewing both research based and commercially available miRNA detection methods in the last decade considering their strengths and weakness with an emphasis on miRNA biosensors.