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Innovations in Environmental Analytical Chemistry: Transition from Conventional Techniques to Nano-enabled Sensing Technologies
Summary
This review rounds up recent research on tiny "nanosensor" tools that can detect harmful pollutants—like heavy metals, pesticides, drug residues, PFAS ("forever chemicals"), and microplastics—in water, soil, or air much faster and cheaper than traditional lab testing. Because these sensors can be used on-site instead of requiring samples to be shipped to a lab, they could make it much easier to catch contamination early, before it builds up in our food and water supplies and affects our health. The technology is promising but still developing, with challenges around reliability and safety that need to be worked out before widespread use.
Environmental contamination from heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and microplastics poses grave risks to human health and ecosystems. Classical analytical methods, including flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), offer high accuracy but are constrained by high cost, laboratory dependence, lengthy sample preparation, and limited real-time capability. The emergence of nanotechnology has revolutionised environmental analytical chemistry by enabling sensors with detection limits several orders of magnitude below regulatory thresholds, rapid response times, and field-deployable formats. This review critically examines the transition from conventional environmental monitoring platforms to nano-enabled sensing technologies, with emphasis on gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene and its derivatives, quantum dots, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and molecularly imprinted nanoparticles. Electrochemical, optical, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) transduction principles are discussed, with a comparison of analytical performance metrics from peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2025. Challenges, including nanomaterial stability, matrix interferences, regulatory acceptance, and environmental safety of the sensors themselves, are critically evaluated. Future directions towards integrated lab-on-chip platforms, artificial intelligence-assisted signal processing, and wearable environmental monitors are highlighted. The review concludes that nano-enabled sensing technologies are poised to become the gold standard for real-time, on-site environmental quality assessment.