Recent progress in metal-organic frameworks-based biosensors for pathogen detection

Timely and accurate detection of pathogens is critical for preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Currently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-based sensing strategies have been reported as desirable pathogens sensing platforms, owing to their distinctive properties such as adjustable porosity, good stability, and high binding affinities. In this review, we aim to highlight recent progress towards MOFs-based biosensors for pathogens detection. We systematically classify the application of MOFs in pathogen detection into two aspects, including biorecognition and signal transduction. For one thing, MOFs feature unique physicochemical properties that facilitate the combination of biological receptors (e.g., aptamers, bacteriophages, molecular imprinting, antibodies, carbohydrates, and peptides), thus ensuring the specific recognition of pathogens. For another, by virtue of their unique optical and electronic properties, MOFs dramatically enhance signal transduction. Accordingly, we summarize MOFs-based biosensors for pathogen detection in terms of the types of signal transduction, including optical, electrochemical, and other transduction. Finally, the remaining challenges and prospects of MOFs-based pathogens detection are elucidated. We believe it may provide considerable inspiration for this flourishing research topic.