{"title":"Wearable chemical sensors in forensic science: Advances and perspectives","authors":"Tongfei Gao , Wenge Tang , Yangyang Liu , Zhuangzhuang Dong , Zhen Tong , Xiantao Shen , Chuixiu Huang , Yanan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118555","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118555","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wearable chemical sensors (WCSs) are demonstrating enormous potential to transform forensic identification by enabling real-time and on-site biochemical analysis and digitally-recorded sensor data monitoring. Advances in flexible electronics, functional materials, and multimodal sensing technologies have catalyzed the development of miniaturized, ergonomic devices that extract critical chemical information from various samples, including biological fluids, crime scene samples, and environmental samples, while interfacing with human physiology via biocompatible and flexible design. Despite the rapid advancement of WCSs in forensic applications, no systematic review has been available over the past five years. This review summarizes the latest advances in WCSs applied in forensic science, including their unique forensic application scenarios, diverse device forms and their scenario adaptability, and applications in forensic toxicant detection. Furthermore, we prospect the future, where the integration of technologies such as artificial intelligence and novel functional materials will transform WCSs into indispensable tools for on-site and real-time forensic identification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118555"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145691899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maryam Sharifi , Mehri H. Pourasl , Habib Tajalli , Balal Khalilzadeh , Ibrahim Isildak
{"title":"Advances in biosensors for wastewater quality assessment","authors":"Maryam Sharifi , Mehri H. Pourasl , Habib Tajalli , Balal Khalilzadeh , Ibrahim Isildak","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118622","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118622","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Contamination of wastewater presents a major risk to global water resources, ecosystems, and human health, driven by industrial discharges, agricultural runoff, and inadequate sanitation infrastructure. Key pollutants, such as heavy metals, organic compounds, pathogens, and emerging pollutants like pharmaceuticals, are analyzed for their effects on aquatic ecosystems and public health. Conventional methods including titration, spectrophotometry, gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, ion chromatography do not have enough sensitivity for timely diagnosis. So sensitive, fast and available diagnostic devices are highly needed for pollution detection. Biosensors compared with the conventional methods, they have many advantages such as sensitive, specific, low cost and rapid. This review evaluates the role of biosensor technologies in detecting and monitoring of wastewater pollutants, highlighting their potential for real-time, sensitive, and cost-effective analysis. Also, the types of biosensors used to monitor of water pollution were reviewed and compared with conventional methods and their pros and cons were discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118622"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145797517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel Andreescu , Nishi Gondhiya , Tianhang Huo , Abd Ur Rehman , Maryam Awan , Henry Du , Silvana Andreescu
{"title":"Nanosensing technologies for PFAS detection in food and agricultural systems","authors":"Daniel Andreescu , Nishi Gondhiya , Tianhang Huo , Abd Ur Rehman , Maryam Awan , Henry Du , Silvana Andreescu","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118600","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118600","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a significant ecological and health risks due to their stability, bioaccumulative nature, and toxicity. Rapid, sensitive and cost-effective detection remains a major challenge. Recent advances in nanotechnology have enabled the development of nanosensors as versatile platforms for PFAS detection in water, soil, and food matrices. This review evaluates the current status of nanosensing technologies for PFAS and their potential for application in agro-food matrices. We discuss nanomaterials-based sensors employing optical, electrochemical and surface enhanced Raman detection, along with developments in data analytics and their integration into agro-food monitoring and precision agriculture. These approaches demonstrate the unique capabilities of nanosensors in achieving high sensitivity, cost-effectiveness, and field deployability. Finally, the review outlines key challenges, research gaps, and future directions for translating nanosensing technologies from proof-of-concept to real-world applications, enhancing monitoring and management of PFAS contamination across environmental, food and agricultural systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118600"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145797564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jianwang Wu , Qi Zheng , Peide Bai , Zhong Pan , Xiaojia Huang
{"title":"Modification strategies of porous monolithic materials-based adsorbents for improving adsorption performance: A review of recent advances and mechanisms","authors":"Jianwang Wu , Qi Zheng , Peide Bai , Zhong Pan , Xiaojia Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118613","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118613","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>At present, porous monoliths have shown broad application prospects in many fields. However, the original and unmodified porous monoliths are increasingly showing performance limitations when used as adsorbents. Therefore, researchers are committed to enhancing the extraction performance of porous monoliths-based adsorbents (PMAs) through various modification methods. To systematically understand the research progress about PMAs, the present review focuses on the main modification strategies, including physical modification, chemical modification and 3D printing technique, emphasizing the mechanism and action of different modification approaches, encompassing investigations into how these strategies modulate pore architecture, tailor surface chemistry and introduce specific functional sites to enhance selectivity, etc. Following this, the article presents a review of modified PMA applications, covering environmental water purification, extraction of trace analytes from biological fluids and gas separation. Finally, the challenges and prospects of the modification techniques are proposed. By presenting these insights, the current review tries to comprehensively understand the latest progress in different PMAs modification techniques and their application advantages, which is conducive to a better understanding of PMAs modification strategies and promotes its potential practical applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118613"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145797566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jean Damascene Harindintwali , Leilei Xiang , Yuhao Fu , Tala Navab-Daneshmand , Xin Jiang , Martin Elsner , Zhongjun Jia , Gerd Dercon , Matthias C. Rillig , James M. Tiedje , Fang Wang
{"title":"Linking pathogens and antibiotic resistance in microbial communities: Insights from omics and isotopic tracing","authors":"Jean Damascene Harindintwali , Leilei Xiang , Yuhao Fu , Tala Navab-Daneshmand , Xin Jiang , Martin Elsner , Zhongjun Jia , Gerd Dercon , Matthias C. Rillig , James M. Tiedje , Fang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118560","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118560","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The accelerating emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens is driven by widespread antibiotic use and escalating environmental disturbances, with resistance and virulence shaped by both genetic determinants and interspecies interactions. Traditional culture-based methods remain insufficient to capture the ecological and functional dynamics of these processes <em>in situ</em>. High-throughput multi-omics, including metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, and metabolomics, has revealed remarkable taxonomic and functional diversity of resistance and virulence determinants across ecosystems. Yet, these approaches often fall short in pinpointing the specific taxa actively expressing functional traits within complex communities. Stable isotope probing (SIP) addresses this gap by linking microbial identity with metabolic activity, enabling direct detection of organisms that degrade antibiotics or express resistance genes under native conditions. Here, we synthesize advances in omics and isotopic tracing to uncover ecological and mechanistic bases of resistance and virulence, highlighting new insights into horizontal gene transfer, community-level selective pressures, and real-time microbial responses to antimicrobial compounds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118560"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145691894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qinyao Lei , Yuanyuan Zou , Jiasheng Yan , Jie Cheng , Jinhong Guo , Diangeng Li
{"title":"Advances and challenges in the application of artificial intelligence to medical biosensing technology: A review","authors":"Qinyao Lei , Yuanyuan Zou , Jiasheng Yan , Jie Cheng , Jinhong Guo , Diangeng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118592","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118592","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent years, biosensing technologies have gained increasing attention for their roles in health monitoring and disease diagnosis. However, challenges such as complex background noise and signal analysis limit their broader application. Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning (ML), shows strong promise to address these issues. This review overviews widely used traditional ML algorithms and deep learning models in biosensing, summarizing advances in neural network architectures and highlighting techniques such as data augmentation, fusion, and transfer learning that support model optimization for biosensing tasks. We further examine AI applications in electrochemical, colorimetric, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and fluorescence sensing, focusing on recent progress in health monitoring, disease diagnosis, short-term glucose prediction, and virtual fluorescence staining. Finally, we discuss the challenges of integrating ML into biosensing and offer perspectives on potential solutions, aiming to provide valuable guidance for the future development of AI-driven biosensing technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118592"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145691890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chiara Luna Onorati , Ester Iatta , Peter A. Lieberzeit
{"title":"Synthesis strategies to bring molecularly imprinted polymers closer to applications","authors":"Chiara Luna Onorati , Ester Iatta , Peter A. Lieberzeit","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118599","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118599","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Molecular imprinting into polymers has been extensively researched for around four decades. Interestingly, this has led to only a limited number of materials that are fit for applying them in real-life conditions. In part, the reason for this lies in the statistical nature of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), especially when they result from free radical polymerization (FRP). This review summarizes advances in tackling those issues focusing on the last five years: it introduces different polymerization techniques for synthesizing thin films and nanoparticles, respectively, and compares them with each other with respect to their properties in binding assays and/or sensors. It hence covers different controlled radical polymerizations (CRP) and electropolymerization approaches to obtain thin films as well as synthesis approaches for MIP nanoparticles both in homogeneous solution and on the solid phase.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118599"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145747990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gobinath Chandrakasan , Siwatt Pongpiachan , Gabriel Marcus , Genaro Martin Soto Zarazua
{"title":"Recent advances in synchrotron-based spectroscopy for organic contaminant analysis","authors":"Gobinath Chandrakasan , Siwatt Pongpiachan , Gabriel Marcus , Genaro Martin Soto Zarazua","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118589","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118589","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This review highlights recent advances in synchrotron radiation (SR) based analytical techniques for investigating the occurrence, transformation, environmental fate of organic contaminants (OC). SR-FTIR achieves <10μm spatial resolution for molecular speciation in the mid-IR range (4000-400 cm<sup>−1</sup>); XAS covers 4–35 keV, revealing elemental oxidation states and coordination environments; XRF microscopy detects trace elements down to ppm levels with spatial resolutions of a few tens of micrometers; STXM-NEXAFS enables sub-micron (≈50nm) analysis of light elements (C, N, O); and X-ray tomography offers non-destructive 3D structural imaging. This review shows multi-scale environmental analysis, demonstrating how combining spectroscopic, imaging approaches enables precise tracking of contaminants-microplastics, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals within complex matrices (soil, sediments, water, and air) with high spatial resolution, chemical specificity, and sensitivity. This cross-disciplinary perspective serves as a practical guide for environmental scientists seeking to fully the analytical capabilities of synchrotron facilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118589"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145691895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Huafeng Wang , You Wu , Xinyi Wang , Fan Wu , Wenwen Tu , Wei Li , Zhihui Dai
{"title":"Recent advances in metal–organic framework/biomolecule hybrids for biomarker detection and bioimaging","authors":"Huafeng Wang , You Wu , Xinyi Wang , Fan Wu , Wenwen Tu , Wei Li , Zhihui Dai","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118597","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118597","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with structural tunability, high porosity, and rich coordination chemistry, have emerged as versatile scaffolds for integrating biomolecules (DNA, enzymes, peptides, etc.) into functional MOF/biomolecule hybrids. These hybrids demonstrate growing potential in biomarker detection and bioimaging through synergistic molecular recognition and signal transduction. This review summarizes recent advances in MOF/biomolecule hybrid construction strategies, including surface adsorption, pore encapsulation, covalent binding, and biomimetic mineralization. We dissect key physicochemical parameters determining diagnostic performance, emphasizing the importance of spatial organization and rational design for molecular recognition, signal amplification, and imaging. Particular attention is given to the applications in biomarker detection (electrochemical, optical, multimodal, etc.) and bioimaging (fluorescence, electrochemiluminescence, and multimodal strategies, etc.). Importantly, a critical outlook on current challenges and future directions is presented. This review provides an integrated perspective of MOF/biomolecule hybrids, which aims to inspire further innovation in materials science, biotechnology, and precision diagnostics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118597"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145747996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advances in single extracellular vesicle characterization and multiplexed profiling","authors":"Juhwan Park , Hansol Kim , Yoon Ho Roh , Jina Ko","doi":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118588","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trac.2025.118588","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale lipid bilayer particles that carry diverse molecular cargos and play essential roles in intercellular communication. However, their inherent heterogeneity and diversity present major challenges for bulk assays and conventional single EV profiling, as these approaches fail to identify rare subpopulations and the full molecular diversity, respectively. Advances in single EV characterization and multiplexed EV profiling technologies have begun to address these limitations, enabling precise, high-resolution analysis of individual vesicles. This review highlights recent developments in single EV characterization methods, including optical and mechanical approaches, and discusses multiplexed profiling platforms categorized into substrate-based, droplet-based, and solution-based strategies. These platforms integrate single EV partitioning with fluorescence and molecular coding schemes to achieve high-throughput and multidimensional biomarker analysis. We also outline four future perspectives for advancing multiplexed single EV profiling and facilitating its clinical application: 1) Integration of multi-omics in single EV profiling, 2) Multi-functional single EV profiling, 3) Rare and clinically relevant EV subpopulation analysis, 4) AI-driven data interpretation in multiplexed single EV analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":439,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Analytical Chemistry","volume":"195 ","pages":"Article 118588"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145747987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}