Synthesis of Magnetic Core–Shell Materials and Their Application in Detection of Food Contaminants

Food contamination poses a significant global public health challenge, necessitating the accurate detection of hazardous substances within complex food matrices. Magnetic core-shell nanomaterials have emerged as critical materials for trace contaminant analysis due to their efficient magnetic separation capabilities, excellent adsorption performance, and tunable surface functionalities. By encapsulating magnetic cores with functional shells, these nanomaterials combine rapid magnetic responsiveness with advantageous shell properties, including target-specific recognition, enhanced dispersibility, colloidal stability, and high surface area. This enables a comprehensive detection approach encompassing target adsorption, rapid separation, and signal amplification. Magnetic core-shell nanomaterials have been effectively integrated with techniques including magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE), fluorescence (FL) assays, and lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs), demonstrating broad applicability in food safety monitoring and detection. This review outlines synthesis strategies for magnetic core-shell nanomaterials, highlights their applications for food contaminant detection, and discusses future challenges and prospects in the field of food safety analysis.