Emerging trends in the cystatin C sensing technologies: towards better chronic kidney disease management

Cystatin C (CysC), a protein, has replaced creatinine as a biomarker of kidney function and other diseases and has led to a surge in the research on the development of efficient CysC biosensors. The current CysC sensing technologies are remarkable in terms of selectivity and reproducibility. However, the complexity, cost, and space requirements of these methods render them unsuitable for real-time monitoring or point-of-care (PoC) implementations in healthcare settings. This review discusses the most recent developments in the field of CysC biosensing and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first focused review exclusively on CysC biosensing modalities. Our goal is to provide a thorough overview of the current state of CysC biosensors, and presenting mechanisms related to biosensor recognition and transduction. The review starts with clinical significance of CysC detection followed by detailed analysis of different CysC biosensing methods with emphasis on the necessity of PoC monitoring of CysC. We have also highlighted current challenges and an outlook on future perspectives. We anticipate that this study will play a key role in the understanding the working principle of CysC sensors and will aid in the designing of new efficient sensing modalities for the detection of CysC.