Recent Advances In Carbon Nanotube Devices For The Application In Food Allergen Detection

Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical shaped structures comprising single or multi layers of graphene sheets which have distinct characteristics of high conductivity, high flexibility, and high stability across a range of scenarios. These carbon nanotube properties provide distinct sensitivity and surface area to manufacture extremely efficient biosensors. Carbon nanotube biosensors detect low concentrations of a target analyte with the aid of specific antibodies or biomolecules immobilized on the carbon nanotube surface, allowing for rapid and accurate diagnostic results. Carbon nanotube-based biosensors have been studied to detect allergens due to the rapid and accurate results provided for identifying allergenic substances in many contexts, including food safety and prevention of subject exposure to allergenic substances, which could potentially trigger allergic reactions. This review will focus on the applications of carbon nanotubes in the development of sensitive biosensors for peanut, wheat, lysozyme, and kidney bean allergens, and will summarize the performance of each biosensor as well as their limitations and promising future applications of carbon nanotubes for allergen detection.