New Approaches in Electrochemical Nanosensors and Biosensors for Intracellular Thiols Detection

Biothiols are the main part of different proteins and matabolites which have tremendous impact on the neutralization of oxidative stress in the cell and stability of the intracellular environment. Metabolite perturbation of these compounds can be indicative of many serious diseases such as weight loss, liver damage, cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer’s. Thus, tremendous researches have been devoted on the detection of thiols via biossensors and nanosensors using electrochemical methods. Higher sensitivity, selectivity, catalytic activity, conductivity, and biocompatibility are the advantage of nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors. With recent advances in nanotechnology, creating new electrode materials with novel chemical and physical properties has become more accessible using nanoparticles (NPs). The progress of NP-based electrochemical sensors and its applications for biothiols detection was reviewed in this article. The aim of this effort is to provide the reader a view of the main functions of NPs in conventional and miniaturized electrochemical sensors. As well as, the novel and significant development of biorecognition elements used in conjunction with nanosensors were reported, which motivate more interests in targeted detection of thiols in further studies. The references selected based on the following characteristics: appropriate signal amplification, minimum detection limit, and simultaneous-detection capabilities toward thios detection.