Advances in microfluidic nanobiosensors for the detection of foodborne pathogens

Foodborne pathogens pose significant concerns in both public health and food safety sector through the world. Rapid and accurate detection of foodborne pathogens at early stage is imperative for the prevention of foodborne disease outbreaks. Conventional methods for foodborne pathogen detection are usually laborious, timeconsuming with poor diagnosis competences, and require costly or bulky equipment. Thus, various techniques have been exploited aiming for rapid detection of foodborne pathogens with high sensitivity. Microfluidic biosensor is a promising area in the detection of very low concentration of substance with accuracy in a costeffective and time-saving manner. By microfluidic nanobiosensors, extremely high sensitivity can be achieved through the enhanced recognition or sensing events across the nanoscale surfaces. When used in foodborne pathogen detection, microfluidic nanobiosensors are capable of decreasing the assay time, reducing the impact of complex food matrix and enhancing the sensitivity and accuracy. Microfluidic nanobiosensors have the potential for low-cost, low-volume and easy-to-use point-of-care (POC) testing hence offering great commercial benefits to public health and food safety sector. A comprehensive literature survey is performed to give an overview on current state-of-the-art of microfluidic nanobiosensors that incorporate different detection methods for various foodborne pathogens with respect to effort and performance to date, along with their advantages and limitations. A few perspective directions of microfluidic nanobiosensor in its development are also discussed.