Smartphone-assisted microfluidic sensor as an intelligent device for on-site determination of food contaminants: Developments and applications

Food safety and contamination issues associated with food hygiene, pesticides, bacteria, chemical additives, and heavy metals are of utmost importance owing to their direct effect on human and even animal health. So, the advance of proper diagnostic tools that are rapid, reliable, sensitive, and efficient devices are needed to meet the extensive request for legislative action on early detection and control of increasing food contaminations. Microfluidic probes coupled with miniaturized portable diagnosis tools are well-suited for rapid test probes, which meaningfully minimize the analysis time and decrease the sample/reagent consumption without relying on operators and laboratories. Smartphone-assisted microfluidic sensors are appropriate for Point-of-Care testing (POCT) diagnosis due to their high data transferability and computational capability, making them quickly emerging as a promising alternative for classical laboratory devices. In this review, we outlined the smartphone functionalities that can be realized in the microfluidic system and described the determination methods employed in smartphone-assisted microfluidic sensors, comprising electrochemical, fluorescent, chemiluminescent, and colorimetric detecting. We hope that this study can explore appropriate monitoring approaches for chemical pollutants and accelerate the transfer of smartphone-assisted microfluidic sensors technology from the lab into the field.