Smart sensors and nanoenabled systems: Pioneering technologies for monitoring emerging organic contaminants in environmental matrices

Abstract

Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) like pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine-disrupting compounds are found increasingly at trace levels in environmental media, posing risks in ecosystem as well as human health. Conventional surveillance methods typically lack speed and sensitivity, so new, higher-order methods are required. Recent developments in smart sensors and nanoenabled devices have enhanced environmental monitoring drastically by offering real-time, extremely sensitive, and selective detection of EOCs. Nanomaterials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and metal nanoparticles offer enhanced signal transduction and in situ detection at sub-ng/L concentration. Graphene-based electrochemical sensors, for example, detected bisphenol in as low as 0.1 ng/L concentration, while quantum dot-based optical sensors are exceptionally selective towards contaminants like triclosan in complex media. Sensor integration with IoT platforms offers real-time, automated tracking, while AI-based data analysis offers predictive contamination pattern modeling. In this review, design principles, detection mechanisms, and field deployments of nanoenabled sensors in a host of environments like industrial effluent, potable waters, and crop runoff are outlined. Challenges like materials sustainability, standardization of regulatory norms, and scale up are also addressed, underscoring that effective interdisciplinary collaborations among toxicology, data science, and regulatory regimes are imperative. Future prospects like biodegradable materials in sensors and multiservice sensing platforms are also addressed. The convergence of nanotechnology, sensing, and digital data analytics holds much promise in revolutionizing environmental surveillance by offering cost-effective, portable, and high-performing tools to ensure protection of public health and ecosystem.