A comparative review of multi-target receptor strategies for electrochemical multi-pesticide detection in food matrices.

Abstract

Pesticide residues in food pose significant food safety and environmental health risks, particularly when multiple pesticides coexist. Although LC-MS and GC-MS offer sensitive, simultaneous detection, their high costs, bulky instruments, and complex sample preparation limit on-site application. Electrochemical sensors provide portable, affordable, and rapid alternatives, but conventional designs primarily detect single analytes. Multi-target receptor strategies, including double/multi-template molecularly imprinted polymers (D/MMIPs), double/multi-aptamers, acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-based systems, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), antibodies, and biochar, address this limitation by enabling simultaneous pesticide detection. Some achieve picomolar detection limits; notably, a dual-signal electrochemiluminescence aptasensor detected acetamiprid and malathion at 0.015 and 0.018 pM, respectively, with 94-102% recoveries in food samples. This review examines developments from 2019 to 2026 in electrochemical multi-pesticide sensors employing multi-target receptors, an underexplored research area. It compares receptor strategies, analytical performance, and practical potential for reliable food safety monitoring, highlighting opportunities for broader on-site implementation across diverse food matrices and settings.

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