Advances in detecting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) using molecular receptors and nanostructured assemblies

The detection and quantification of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are crucial due to their widespread use and potential impact on human health and the environment. This review provides a comprehensive survey of the recent advancements in sensing technologies for NSAIDs, focusing on molecular receptors and nanostructured assemblies. Molecular receptors based on different fluorescent molecules such as anthracene, naphthalimide, squaraine, quinoline, BINOL, etc. offer high selectivity and sensitivity for NSAID detection. In parallel, nanostructured assemblies including CdSe/ZnS, Cd/S quantum dots (QDs), carbon dot-containing imprinted polymers, Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs), hydrogel-embedded chemosensors, etc. were utilized for NSAID detection. This review highlights the different binding pathways with the change of various photophysical properties combining molecular recognition elements with nanomaterials to develop innovative sensors that achieve rapid, sensitive, and selective detection of NSAIDs. The review also discusses current challenges and future prospects in the field and based on reported designed receptors and nanostructured assemblies. To the best of our knowledge, no reviews have been reported on this topic so far. Thus, this review will fruitfully guide researchers to design various new molecular receptors and nanostructured materials to detect NSAIDs.