MXene-based electrochemical sensors for cancer biomarker detection: current trends, challenges, and future directions

Cancer remains a major global health challenge, and developing effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies is a primary focus of current research. The early diagnosis is one of the crucial strategies to improve patient outcomes and minimize the overall burden on healthcare system. To enable efficient detection, there is an urgent need for advanced sensor interfaces that offer high sensitivity and selectivity for accurate and reliable performance. MXene gained significant attention in the last decade right after its discovery for biomolecules detection purpose. MXene due to its unique composition and structure exhibits remarkable multifunctional property of electrical conductivity, chemical stability, and sensor's functional versatility. This review paper aims to extensively examine the available latest research on MXene for prevalent cancer biomarker detection electrochemically. It further summarizes essential properties of MXene contributing to electrochemical sensing capabilities. In addition, commonly applied methods in preparation of MXene nanomaterials are comprehensively discussed with their merits and demerits. Importantly, various approaches to electrochemically detect cancer biomarkers using MXene are elaborated comprehensively, to highlight the interaction and necessary modifications between sensor recognition material and target molecules. The categorically discussion of MXene application on prevalent cancer trend offers a crystalize perspective aligning MXene's characteristics with cancer diagnosis. Moreover, the highlights of challenges faced in synthesis and application of MXene, along with future potential, will help in understanding the projection of the future trend of MXene application for cancer diagnostic. With these detailed focus points, this review will serve as a worthy resource for upcoming research in improvement of cancer healthcare.