Electrochemical (Bio)Sensors for Antibiotic Residue Detection in Aquatic Animal Products: A Review

The rapid and sensitive quantification of antibiotic residues in aquatic animals is crucial for ensuring food safety and protecting public health. Electrochemical (bio)sensors show great potential in this field due to their quick response time, low cost, and ease of miniaturization. This paper presents a systematic review of advances in the electrochemical detection of eight classes of antibiotics: fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, amphenicols, tetracyclines, nitrofurans, macrolides, aminoglycosides, and β-lactams in aquatic animal samples. It covers four types of sensors: direct electrochemical sensors, immunosensors, aptasensors, and molecularly imprinted sensors. The review emphasizes the electrochemical behavior of the targets, interface design, recognition elements, signal amplification strategies, and validation using real samples. It also summarizes the sample pretreatment methods for different classes of antibiotics. Finally, the paper analyzes key challenges related to adaptability to complex matrices, consistency in sample preparation, and validation with real-world samples. Additionally, it proposes future directions for development in this field.