Advances in biosensor technologies for early diagnosis of preeclampsia through molecular biomarkers

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication marked by hypertension and proteinuria occurring after 20 weeks of gestation, and it is the primary cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality globally. The primary issue in its management is the delayed diagnosis resulting from conventional procedures that depend on clinical symptoms, despite the earlier occurrence of pathological signs. Consequently, the identification of specific biomarkers and the advancement of precise, sensitive, and practical diagnostic tools are imperative. This review highlights recent advances in biosensor-based diagnostic strategies for preeclampsia by examining electrochemical, optical, mass-sensitive, and piezoelectric transducers used to detect angiogenic, anti-angiogenic, oxidative stress, and immunological biomarkers. The results show that biosensors, especially electrochemical platforms, offer advantages in sensitivity, specificity, short analysis time, and the possibility of miniaturization for point-of-care use. Biomarker combinations, such as the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, further enhance diagnostic accuracy over a single biomarker approach. Notwithstanding these benefits, issues remain concerning bioreceptor stability, interference from biological matrices, and the necessity for extensive clinical validation. Ongoing progress in nanotechnology and materials engineering is anticipated to expedite the clinical application of biosensor-based diagnostics to facilitate early disease detection and clinical decision-making.