Nanomaterial-based optical and electrochemical aptasensors: A reinforced approach for selective recognition of zearalenone

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a highly toxic non-steroidal mycotoxin produced via some Fusarium species that intimidate the agricultural and food industry. Therefore, it is an intense need for different groups to develop some novel, rapid, reliable, and precise analytical methods for ZEN detection to ensure food safety. Although various analytical techniques have been fabricated for ZEN detection, hindrances including high price instruments, time-consuming and labor-intensive, have restricted their application. Aptamers are a new class of bioreceptors designated via a process named SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment). Recently, advanced nanomaterials (NMs) have gained much attention in the construction of aptasensors due to their creditable optical, electrical, magnetic, and structural characteristic. This article briefly summarized ZEN occurrence, metabolism, and toxicity caused by ZEN and also enumerate the aptamers selected for ZEN. Most importantly this review article mainly focuses on the recently published articles on the NMs-based aptasensors for ZEN detection. So far, optical (colorimetric fluorescence and localized surface plasmon resonance) and electrochemical (conventional electrochemical and electrochemiluminescence) aptasensors with different detection strategies have been fabricated for ZEN detection in different food and feed samples. Among them, electrochemical aptasensor gained special attention due to their high sensitivity, simplicity, and easy operation. Hence, this article intends to sum up the various advanced NMs-based aptasensors, their detection design, and the complete working principle used for ZEN detection. Moreover, the intrinsic worth of each detection strategy has been investigated and the finest performance gained from each strategy was highlighted. Furthermore, the current contests and the future outlooks for emerging novel aptasensor for ZEN/other target's detection have also been discussed.