Recent developments in optical aptamer sensors for pesticide residues detectio

Pesticide residues seriously impact food safety and environmental protection. Consequently, there is a pressing demand for the development of dependable and efficient methods for pesticide residues detection. In recent years, optical aptamer sensors have emerged as highly sensitive and fast-response sensing platforms for pesticide detection. These developed sensors rely on the selectivity and sensitivity of nucleic acid aptamer to specifically interact with the target pesticide, resulting in an observable signal response. Various optical aptamer sensors such as fluorescence, colorimetry, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) methods, and chemiluminescence (CL) methods have been effectively employed for accurate and rapid detection of pesticides, encompassing a range of pesticide types including insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. These sensors offer several advantages including quick response times, high selectivity and sensitivity, user-friendly operation, and enabling real-time monitoring. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent advancements in the application and development of optical aptamer sensors for pesticide residue assay with the overarching goal of furnishing an invaluable reference point for forthcoming research and advancements in the realm of swift and highly sensitive pesticide residue detection.