Advances in metal-organic framework-based sensors for mycotoxin detection in food: mechanisms, applications, and future trends

Mycotoxin contamination of food poses a serious challenge to food safety, leading to substantial economic losses and significant risks to human health. Although conventional mycotoxin detection methods are highly sensitive and accurate, they typically require tedious sample pretreatment, rely heavily on sophisticated instrumentation, and require highly trained operators, which greatly limits their practicality for routine on-site analysis. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in metal-organic framework (MOF)-based sensing technologies for the detection of foodborne mycotoxins. As crystalline porous materials, MOFs have tunable pore sizes, exceptionally high specific surface areas, and robust chemical stability, and they can be readily integrated with biorecognition elements, such as enzymes and aptamers. This review emphasizes the operating principles, classifications, and mechanisms of fluorescence, electrochemical, photoelectrochemical, colorimetric, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors. Despite rapid progress, MOF-based sensing technologies still face challenges with respect to their stability, selectivity, anti-interference capability, and applicability to real-world samples. Future research should focus on innovative material design, sustainable synthesis strategies, the construction of integrated multifunctional platforms, and translational pathways toward commercialization, thereby providing guidance for subsequent studies and accelerating the deployment of these technologies for food safety monitoring.