Visual and Portable Sensors for Antibiotic Residue Detection in Foods

The widespread use of antibiotics in agriculture and livestock farming plays a crucial role in maintaining animal health and enhancing productivity. However, excessive use of antibiotics results in residues accumulating in food products, posing significant health risks. These antibiotic residues may trigger allergic reactions, have toxic effects and, most notably, contribute to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Conventional detection methods are often labor-intensive and costly and require complex sample preparation and specialized equipment, limiting their suitability for on-site analysis. Emerging visual and portable sensors have addressed these limitations by offering rapid, cost-effective, and user-friendly platforms for detecting residual antibiotics in foods. This chapter presents an overview of recent advancements in visual and portable sensors for antibiotic detection, detailing their operational principles, materials integration, and analytical performance in food matrices. We first review six commonly used antibiotics in food production, their mechanisms of action and risks as contaminants. We then explore visual detection technologies, focusing on lateral flow assays and fluorescence-based sensors. Next, we examine portable electrochemical sensing technologies, emphasizing their design strategies and performance characteristics. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future opportunities, highlighting areas for potential advancements toward practical, reliable, and commercially viable sensing platforms for antibiotic detection.