Transformative biomedical devices to overcome biomatrix effects

The emergence of high-performance biomedical devices and sensing technologies highlights the technological advancements in the field. Recently during COVID-19 pandemic, biosensors played an important role in medical diagnostics and disease monitoring. In the past few decades, biosensors have made impressive advances in terms of sensing capability, methodology, and applications, and modern biosensors show higher performance and functionality compared to traditional biosensing platforms. Currently, various biomedical devices are already in the market or on the verge of commercialization, such as disposable paper-based devices, lab-on-a-chip devices, wearable sensors, and artificial intelligence-assisted systems, all contributing to the evolution of digital health. Despite the promising features of detection methods for developing practical biosensors, there are substantial barriers to the commercialization of biomedical devices. An important challenge is the matrix effect in the detection of clinical samples. Although achieving low limit of detection values under controlled laboratory conditions is feasible, maintaining performance in real clinical samples is difficult. Matrix molecules present in these samples can interact with analytes, potentially affecting sensitivity, specificity, and sensor response. Approaches to reduce nonspecific adsorption and cross-reactivity are imperative for improving sensor performance. The detection of diagnostic biomarkers in complex biological matrices often requires laborious sample preparation, which may affect accuracy and precision. In this review, we highlight the recent efforts to detect analytes in real samples, both invasively and noninvasively, and underline technological advancements that mitigate the biomatrix effects. We also discuss commercially available biosensors and technologies promising commercial success, highlighting their potential effect on healthcare and diagnostics.