Development of Novel Analytical Platforms for the Rapid, Point-of-Use Quantification of Multiple Contaminants in Food Samples

Food contamination, which refers to the presence of microorganisms and harmful chemicals in food, is an urgent health concern, as it can cause consumer illness at different levels of severity. Biosensors can act as a helpful tool in contaminants detection as highly sensitive and easy-to-use analytical devices. However, as one of the drawbacks in developing contaminants biosensors is the synthesis of antibodies for these highly toxic targets, the use of biomimetic receptors has recently become an interesting alternative. Moreover, the coupling with nanostructures allows the miniaturization and thus the portability of these devices, and these are the features that make them suitable for on-field screening analysis. This review presents the different strategies adopted in the Sensors and Biosensors Laboratory of the University of Florence for the development of electrochemical biosensors based on nanostructured sensing platforms and biomimetic probe molecules for the determination of a pattern of contaminants (e.g., pesticides, toxins, allergens, heavy metals) related to food but also to environmental analysis.