Recent progress on lateral flow immunoassays in foodborne pathogen detection

Foodborne pathogens cause diseases in humans. The traditional methods of detecting foodborne pathogens are time-consuming. The lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has become a widely used detection platform for onsite testing of various foodborne pathogens due to its time-efficiency, cost-effectiveness, portability, and ease of use. With the development of novel nanomaterials, the sensitivity of the LFIA has improved tremendously compared with traditional colorimetric LFIA sensors. This review first summarizes the principles and corresponding formats of the LFIA. Then, a detailed classification of nanomaterial label (e.g., metallic, carbon and selenium, fluorescent, and magnetic nanoparticles) synthesis, signal amplification strategy, and detection principles are discussed as related to food safety. Subsequently, the LFIA used in the detection of pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella, are classified and summarized. Multiple signal modes have been explored that improve the sensitivity of foodborne pathogen detection. Further improvement should focus on the design and preparation of high signal-to-noise ratio nanomaterials to achieve highly sensitive detection, and multitarget and multimode sensing.