Advances in cholesterol and lipoproteins detection for healthcare: A review

Abstract Cholesterol is currently one of the main biomarkers for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk, with low‐ and high‐density lipoprotein measured in the global cardiovascular risk assessment. Nevertheless, the detection of these molecules still relies on traditional methods, which can be resource‐intensive. Research has been focusing on developing more rapid techniques for cholesterol detection, often emphasizing technologies suitable for point‐of‐care use to facilitate screening and diagnosis in decentralized or underserved settings. This review begins with an overview of cholesterol metabolism and biology, followed by an in‐depth examination of the various sensor technologies reported in the literature for detecting cholesterol in its different forms, including free (non‐esterified), esterified, and lipoprotein‐bound, ranging from enzymatic to non‐enzymatic approaches, such as molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). The functioning mechanism, advantages, and limitations of each type of sensor are discussed, leading to the final recommendations. Enzymatic sensors could prove preferable in the detection of free or esterified cholesterol, given their selectivity, whereas MIPs seem to have the edge in the detection of lipoproteins, with different studies demonstrating their applicability in human serum.