Advances in lateral flow assays for sensitive detection of antibiotic residues: An intelligent tool for food safety monitoring

Antibiotics are widely used in livestock and aquaculture to promote growth and prevent disease. However, antibiotic residues in animal-derived food pose serious risks to human health and the global antibiotic resistance. Thus, there is an urgent need for point-of-care testing strategies to ensure food safety. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in lateral flow assay (LFA) platforms for sensitive antibiotic detection. We critically assess the integration of biorecognition elements, advanced nanomaterials, innovative optical systems, and intelligent devices including smartphone-assisted platforms and artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced analysis. Special focus is given to novel signal amplification strategies and multiplexing techniques that enable simultaneous detection of multiple antibiotics. Furthermore, we discuss current limitations and outline future directions. This review highlights the transformative potential of intelligent LFA tools in establishing digitalized, automated, and scalable solutions for end-to-end monitoring of antibiotics throughout the food supply chain.