Next-generation biosensors for detecting bioaerosols: Challenges, innovations, and applications

Bioaerosols, which include airborne bacteria, viruses, fungi, spores, and biological toxins, are an important but understudied component of atmospheric particulate matter, with serious consequences for public health, environmental safety, and biodefense. Traditional bioaerosol detection methods, such as culture-based assays and laboratory molecular approaches, are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and unsuitable for real-time airborne monitoring. As a result, next-generation biosensors have emerged as revolutionary instruments for detecting bioaerosols quickly, sensitively, and in situ. This study critically explores current improvements in biosensor technologies intended for bioaerosol monitoring, focusing on sensing mechanisms, system integration, and real-world applicability. This review covers important issues specific to airborne biosensing, such as low biomass concentrations, sample viability loss, environmental interferences, and the integration of effective air-sampling methodologies with sensing platforms. Emerging developments are thoroughly examined, including nanomaterial-enabled sensors, microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices, CRISPR-based nucleic acid biosensors, optical and electrochemical transducers, and AI-assisted signal processing. The possible applications of these biosensors include public health surveillance, indoor air quality assessment, agricultural biosecurity, hospital infection management, and biodefense. This review also discusses future directions for autonomous, networked, and wearable bioaerosol biosensors that are connected with IoT and smart infrastructure. This review provides a complete framework for developing next-generation biosensing platforms that can detect bioaerosols and mitigate airborne risks.