Electrochemical Detection of Antibiotics in Environmental and Biological Matrices

Antibiotic contamination of water, soil, food products and biological fluids poses a major public health and ecological challenge worldwide. Traditional analytical methods such as chromatography and mass spectrometry offer high sensitivity but require complex sample preparation, costly instrumentation and lengthy analysis times. Electrochemical detection has emerged as a rapid, cost‐effective and field‐deployable alternative. By transducing redox reactions of antibiotic molecules at modified electrode surfaces into measurable currents, electrochemical sensors deliver real‐time quantification with low limits of detection. Key advances hinge on the integration of nanomaterials—carbon nanotubes, graphene derivatives, metal nanoparticles and metal–organic frameworks—that expand active surface area, enhance electron transfer kinetics and introduce selective binding sites. Applications span trace analysis of tetracyclines, β-lactams and chloramphenicol in river water, milk and blood serum, as well as continuous monitoring in portable or wearable formats. Current research seeks to overcome matrix interferences, electrode fouling and standardisation of sensor fabrication, while advancing multiplexed detection and in situ deployment in resource‐limited settings.

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Electrochemical Detection of Antibiotics in Environmental and Biological Matrices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical detection of antibiotics in environmental and biological matrices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Electrochemical sensor: A device that converts a chemical interaction at an electrode surface into an electrical signal proportional to analyte concentration.

Voltammetry: An electroanalytical technique in which current is measured while the electrode potential is varied to characterise redox processes.

Nanomaterials: Materials with at least one dimension in the nanometre range, used to improve electrode sensitivity and selectivity.

Screen-printed electrode: A mass-fabricated, disposable electrode produced by printing conductive inks onto a substrate for portable sensing.

Limit of detection (LOD): The lowest concentration of an analyte that can be distinguished from background noise with defined confidence.

References

1. Recent advances in nanomaterial‐assisted electrochemical sensors for food safety analysis. Food Frontiers (2022).
2. Electrochemical Sensor Based on Nanodiamonds and Manioc Starch for Detection of Tetracycline. Journal of Sensors (2021).
3. Intertwined Carbon Nanotubes and Ag Nanowires Constructed by Simple Solution Blending as Sensitive and Stable Chloramphenicol Sensors. Sensors (2021).