Genosensors as a powerful and next generation diagnostic approach of bacterial infections: From the current methods and their challenges to clinical application of genosensors

• The common detection and diagnostic methods/strategies and outcomes, as well as genosensors for specific detection of bacteria, are discussed. • This explains how genosensors can be used to accurately and quickly detect life-threatening bacteria. • The designed different types of genosensors for certain bacterial detection are reviewed in detail. • Future outlook of the current limitations and upcoming challenges in analyzing various kinds of bacteria is explained. Rapid and highly specific detection of bacterial pathogens remains a major challenge in clinical diagnostics, food safety, and environmental monitoring. While conventional culture and PCR-based assays provide reliable results, their reliance on laboratory infrastructure and long processing times limits their applicability for point of care testing. Genosensors biosensing platforms that detect bacterial nucleic acids through controlled probe immobilization and hybridization offer a promising alternative. This review critically examines recent advances in biorecognition elements (ssDNA, PNA, LNA), probe immobilization chemistries (thiol-gold SAMs, EDC/NHS coupling, click based strategies, and affinity systems), and diverse transduction formats including electrochemical, optical, and emerging hybrid approaches. Key developments enabling enhanced sensitivity, reduced nonspecific interactions, and improved performance in complex matrices are highlighted. Unlike previous pathogen by pathogen descriptive surveys, this review provides a comparative, mechanism focused analysis that identifies the strengths and limitations of each sensing strategy. Major translational barriers including surface fouling, limited reproducibility, lack of standardized fabrication workflows, and insufficient preclinical validation are discussed alongside emerging solutions such as antifouling coatings, microfluidic preprocessing, and standardized probe-surface assemblies. Overall, genosensors are positioned to evolve from laboratory scale prototypes into clinically relevant, multiplexed diagnostic tools. Continued progress toward robust sample-to-answer integration, regulatory-aligned validation, and scalable manufacturing will be essential for their widespread deployment in real world applications.