Recent advances in bacterial detection techniques targeting genetic, protein, and enzymatic biomarkers

Rapid and accurate diagnosis of bacterial infections is essential for effective clinical management, food safety, and environmental monitoring. Traditional culture-based methods are time-consuming and inadequate for addressing urgent challenges such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This review categorizes recent bacterial detection strategies into three major biomarker types: genetic, protein, and enzymatic. For each category, we outline the underlying detection mechanisms, evaluate analytical performance, and highlight representative technologies, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-Cas (CRISPR-Cas) assays, advanced immunoassays, aptamer sensors, and enzyme-based assays. Meanwhile, we provide a detailed description of representative examples for each representative technology. Key metrics such as sensitivity, detection time, portability, and point-of-care (POC) applicability are compared to reveal the strengths and limitations of each approach. Translational progress is discussed with emphasis on commercialized platforms, field-deployable devices, and multimodal workflows. Finally, major technical bottlenecks are identified, and future directions are proposed for developing robust, rapid, and widely accessible bacterial diagnostics.