Stimulus-responsive hydrogels: A potent tool for biosensing in food safety

A stimulus-responsive hydrogel is a three-dimensional (3D) network structure gel with extremely hydrophilic properties, and its microstructure and chemical properties respond to changes in environmental conditions. The wide application and variety of stimulus-responsive hydrogels have aroused much research interest, especially in the development and manufacture of intelligent hydrogels. The biosensing ability of stimulus-responsive hydrogels in the field of food safety has also received extensive attention in recent years. Herein, the beneficial qualities and advantages of stimulus-responsive hydrogels were explored by discussing their various application types. The potentials of stimulus-responsive hydrogels in intelligent food detection systems were analyzed by combining their advantages and characteristics, such as stimulus responsiveness, water retention, toughness, controllability, sensitiveness, and low cost. Stimulus-responsive hydrogels can react to an external environment (including light, pH, temperature, and electricity), which is directly tied to their exceptional characteristics. Different stimulus-responsive hydrogels have various functioning mechanisms in the detection of food safety, which is convenient to provide fast, economical, extremely sensitive, and professional detection technologies, showing considerable application potential.