Advances in Biosensors for Food Safety, Environmental Monitoring, and Biomedical Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Biosensors, as analytical devices integrating biological recognition elements with physicochemical transducers, have emerged as powerful tools for detecting and quantifying target analytes with high specificity and sensitivity. Over the past few decades, significant advancements in nanotechnology, material science, and biotechnology have propelled the development of biosensors, expanding their applications across critical domains such as food safety, environmental monitoring, and biomedical diagnostics. Growing global challenges—including food contamination, environmental pollution, and the increasing burden of diseases—underscore the urgent need for rapid, accurate, and cost-effective detection technologies. Biosensors address these demands by offering real-time, portable, and scalable solutions, thereby playing a pivotal role in safeguarding public health and ensuring sustainable development. For food safety, biosensors enable the rapid detection of pathogens, toxins, and chemical residues, which are major concerns for foodborne illnesses and regulatory compliance. Traditional methods, such as microbial culturing and chromatography, are often time-consuming and labor-intensive. In contrast, biosensors provide on-site analysis with minimal sample preparation, significantly reducing the risk of contaminated products entering the supply chain. In environmental monitoring, they detect pollutants and heavy metals in air, water, and soil, enabling real-time analysis for regulatory compliance. For biomedical applications, biosensors facilitate early disease diagnosis (e.g., glucose monitoring) and point-of-care testing, improving healthcare outcomes. Their high sensitivity, portability, and efficiency make them indispensable tools across these critical fields.

This Special Issue seeks to compile high-quality research articles and reviews that explore novel biosensing strategies, materials, and applications in food, environmental, and biomedical fields. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Biosensors for pathogen and toxin detection in food.
• Environmental biosensors for pollutants, heavy metals, and pesticides.
• Biosensors for biomedical analysis and health monitoring.
• Lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic biosensing platforms for portable and point-of-need applications.
• Novel biosensing strategies (e.g., CRISPR-based detection, synthetic biology, AI-enhanced sensors).
• Development of nanomaterials and biorecognition elements for enhanced sensor performance.
• Integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in biosensor data analysis.

Dr. Li Xue
Prof. Dr. Gaowa Xing
Dr. Ruya Guo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biosensors is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.