Functionalized gold nanoparticles for sensing of pesticides: A review

Pesticides are a family of non-biodegradable chemical compounds which widely used in agriculture to control pests and increase yield production. However, overuse or abuse of pesticides and their metabolites may cause potential toxicity for the environment as well as human health and all other living organisms, even at deficient concentrations. Consequently, the development of sensors for monitoring these compounds is significant. Recently, nanoparticles-based sensors have been extensively employed as a potential alternative or complementary analytical tool to conventional detection methods for pesticides. Among them, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) owing to their unique optical properties have been developed as smart sensors with high selectivity, sensitivity, simplicity, and portability. These comprehensive reviews have summarized various studies performed based on different detection strategies, i.e., colorimetric, fluorescence, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and electrochemical, using AuNPs as sensing probes for pesticide analysis in various matrices. Additionally, the current challenges and future trends for developing novel AuNPs-based sensors for the detection of pesticides are also discussed.