Recent advancements in nanotechnological approaches for pollution monitoring and environmental sustainability

Environmental pollution and human health are inextricably linked. As the number of environmental pollutants increases, it is increasingly important to develop unique, effective, and intelligent analytical devices to monitor them. Biosensors are devices that capture biological signals and convert them into audible electrical impulses. To detect and observe specific biological analytes, such as the interaction between antibodies and antigens, biological entities such as DNA, RNA, and proteins/ enzymes must be integrated with electrochemical transducers. Variety of biosensors has lately gained prominence and is being employed as in situ, real-time, and cost-effective analytical devices for healthy environments. Continuous environmental monitoring necessitates the use of biosensing technologies that are portable, inexpensive, quick, and adaptive. Each sensor, on the other hand, stands apart in terms of selectivity, technique, sensitivity, detection restrictions, sensitizing materials, and speed. Each sensitive element has a distinct selectivity and detection limit based on its sensitivity. This review focuses on the distinguishing characteristics, efficient design, and effectiveness of several types of biosensors, with an emphasis on the detection of environmental contaminants. Accurate devices will also aid in the continuing, parallel investigation of the causes and discharge of environmental toxins from diverse industrial sectors. Furthermore, real-time monitoring has the added benefit of allowing on-site analysis of pollutant components before to discharge into the environment, which can assist reduce the waste of a variety of harsh chemicals and reagents. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the most recent developments in the field of using biosensors to identify environmental pollutants. Biosensors based on enzymes, entire cells, antibodies, aptamers, DNA, and biomimetic sensors are described. We list their useful qualities as well as their relevance to the detection of various contaminants. Designing biosensors makes use of a number of detection principles, including amperometry, conductometry, luminescence, etc. They differ in terms of design, profitability, sensitivity, and quickness. Further research is necessary to create a powerful biosensor that can identify environmental contaminants in a multifaceted medium, with no prior time-consuming pretreatment or tedious preparation protocols.