Advancements and challenges on SERS-based multimodal biosensors for biotoxin detection

Background

Food safety is a critical global concern that greatly impacts public health. Especially, the presence of biotoxins in food has drawn public concern due to their potential to cause severe health problems. To address the issue, research has boosted interest in developing powerful analytical tools for the monitoring of biotoxins. As an emerging characterization and detection technique, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has gained significant attention in food safety for its high specificity and sensitivity, and rapid response.

Scope and approach

This review delves into the advancements of SERS and its combined techniques in the detection of biotoxins, which details SERS substrates, detection modes, and distinct types of SERS-based biosensors, with an emphasis on the mechanisms of design and sensing strategies. Despite enhancements in detection sensitivity and accuracy, it discusses solutions to signal interference from complex matrices, as well as the need for signal conversion and amplification. The potential of SERS-based biosensors in revolutionizing food safety testing is highlighted, and directions for future research are proposed to address current limitations and to harness their advantages in biotoxin monitoring.

Key findings and conclusions

Technological innovations in SERS-based multimodal biosensors are significantly enhancing SERS detection performance, providing an alternative avenue for broader applications in biotoxin detection. The versatility of nanomaterials offers flexible design solutions for the construction of SERS-based biosensors. By addressing current challenges and exploring future opportunities, advancements in these methods are expected to strengthen food safety detection efforts.