Nanozyme-enhanced paper-based biosensor technologies

Nanozymes, enzyme-mimetic nanomaterials that combine features of nanoscale material with the catalytic properties of enzymes, have undergone rapid development in recent years. While enzymes have remained integral to biosensor technologies for the past few decades, the potential of nanozymes to overcome the low stability and high production costs of biological enzymes is turning them into promising biosensor candidates. Over the past decade, nanozymes have been explored for a myriad of biosensing applications. However, only a small subset of these efforts has resulted in devices and platforms that are potentially suitable for on-site/point-of-care monitoring. To promote efforts in this area, the review first provides a concise overview of different paper-based technologies, their architecture and functionality, in a language conducive to the nanozyme research community. The review, then, critically discusses the progress made in the integration of nanozymes in biosensor platforms for on-site detection of food contaminants, environmental pollutants, and disease biomarkers. The challenges associated with the transition of solution-based nanozyme biosensors to relevant devices and technologies are highlighted, and strategies to overcome those challenges are proposed. We envision that this review could narrow the gap impeding the translation of nanozyme-based biosensor technologies from laboratories to real-world scenarios by encouraging consolidated cross-disciplinary and trans-sectoral efforts.