Application of nanomaterials in electrochemical paper-based biomedical microfluidic devices

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs), because of their mechanical flexibility, low cost, easy scale-up in manufacturing, small sample volumes and user-friendly properties, show great application prospect in bio-medicine, environmental monitor, food industry, drug industry and so on. As one kind of μPADs, the electrochemical microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (EμPADs) combine the advantages of μPADs with the advantages of electrochemical detection and keep attracting more and more attention. Recently, to improve the performance of EμPADs, applying nanomaterials for the fabrication of biosensors has become the research hotspot. This review presents some of the most prominent applications of nanomaterials in EμPADs over the past five years and also describes the challenges and future perspectives related to the recent application and development of paper-based electrochemical biosensors.