Recent Advances for Imidacloprid Detection Based on Functional Nanomaterials

Imidacloprid (IMI) has been applied in agricultural production to prevent pests. It is vital to detect IMI residues with high sensitivity for food safety. In general, nanomaterials have driven the development of highly sensitive sensing platforms owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. Nanomaterials play important roles in the construction of high-performance sensors, mainly through sample pretreatment and purification, recognition molecules immobilization, signal amplification, and providing catalytic active sites. This review addresses the advances in IMI sensors based on the combination of nanomaterials and various analytical techniques. The design principles and performance of different chromatographic, electrochemical, and fabricated optical sensors coupled with nanomaterials are discussed. Finally, the challenges and prospects of sensors based on nanomaterials for IMI analysis have also been incorporated.