Emerging multimodal lateral flow immunoassays: Rational signal synergy design for enhanced food safety monitoring

Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has become a core tool for rapid on-site screening of food hazards. However, traditional single-modal LFIA exhibits insufficient sensitivity and is susceptible to matrix interference, posing significant challenges in practical applications. In recent years, the systematic integration of multimodal signals, including colorimetric, catalytic, magnetic, fluorescence, and photothermal, has emerged as a critical strategy to improve detection sensitivity, anti-interference capability, and quantitative accuracy. Notably, the performance of multimodal LFIA depends on the design of functional materials and device support. Based on this, this review systematically summarizes four key aspects: 1) The intrinsic properties of diverse functional nanomaterials. 2) Device support from high-precision laboratory instruments to portable sensors, enhanced by artificial intelligence. 3) Practical applications for food contaminants monitoring in complex matrices. 4) Current bottlenecks and future prospects. This review aims to provide a valuable theoretical foundation for advancing multimodal LFIA toward more universal and user-friendly detection tool.