Recent Advances in Electrochemical Affinity Biosensors: Detection of Biological Toxin Agents.

Biological toxins are metabolic products produced by living organisms. They exert deleterious effects on another organism through food, drinking water, inhalation, injection, ingestion, and absorption through the skin or mucous membranes. Health effects such as respiratory distress, muscle weakness, seizures, paralysis, and death depend on the amount and route of exposure to toxins. They act quickly and are fatal even in low doses, and can be considered bioterror agents due to their high potency, the reasonably long latency period before symptoms are exhibited, the difficulty in detecting or diagnosing their presence and identity, and their relative ease in production and stability in the environment. The development of selective and sensitive electrochemical biosensors has been of main importance for the quantification of biological toxins in low amounts in biological samples. This review examined the detection of various biological toxin agents using aptasensors and immunosensors from 2019 to 2025. This study provided information on the effect of the mechanism of biological toxins on another organism, modification of various electrochemical affinity biosensors, and smartphone-based and portable electrochemical biosensors used in the analysis of biological toxins.