Electrochemical sensors and biosensors based on the use of polyaniline and its nanocomposites: a review on recent advances

Polyaniline and its composites with nanoparticles have been widely used in electrochemical sensor and biosensors due to their attractive properties and the option of tuning them by proper choice of materials. The review (with 191 references) describes the progress made in the recent years in polyaniline-based biosensors and their applications in clinical sensing, food quality control, and environmental monitoring. A first section summarizes the features of using polyaniline in biosensing systems. A subsequent section covers sensors for clinical applications (with subsections on the detection of cancer cells and bacteria, and sensing of glucose, uric acid, and cholesterol). Further sections discuss sensors for use in the food industry (such as for sulfite, phenolic compounds, acrylamide), and in environmental monitoring (mainly pesticides and heavy metal ions). A concluding section summarizes the current state, highlights some of the challenges currently compromising performance in biosensors and nanobiosensors, and discusses potential future directions.