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Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process...
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Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Chemosensors (ISSN 2227-9040). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Chemical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 December 2026 | Viewed by 10230

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Weiying Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: sensors; food analysis; proteomics; nontargeted detection; chemometrics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Low-cost sensing refers to the use of affordable sensors to detect and measure the presence of chemicals. These sensors can be used in a wide variety of applications, including environmental monitoring, healthcare, food quality and safety, and industrial process control. Low-cost sensing technologies include, but are not limited to, the following: gas sensors in applications such as air quality monitoring, leak detection in industrial settings, or breath analysis in medical diagnostics; pH sensors used from water quality testing to food and beverage production; biosensors that use enzymes or antibodies to detect specific chemical compounds in medical diagnostics; colorimetric sensors that respond to a specific chemical reaction for integrated test kits; and electronic noses with an array of chemical sensors to mimic the function of the human nose, identifying complex smells and tastes for food quality control or disease diagnosis.

Low-cost sensing can democratize access to important data and enable more widespread monitoring of chemical substances. However, like other low-cost sensing technologies, they may have limitations in terms of their accuracy, sensitivity, and selectivity compared to more expensive, laboratory-grade instruments. To overcome such disadvantages, recent developments in low-cost sensing have been driven by advances in materials science, nanotechnology, and information technologies, with key trends such as nanomaterials, printed electronics, paper-based sensors, wearable devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML), making sensing more accessible, affordable, and effective, opening up new possibilities for monitoring and managing chemical substances in commercial products, the environment, and our bodies.

This Special Issue will encompass original research and reviews to benefit interested readers with knowledge of the state-of-the-art in low-cost sensing.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Sensors.

Dr. Weiying Lu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Chemosensors is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • low-cost
  • chemosensors
  • sensors
  • food analysis
  • gas sensor
  • pH sensor
  • medical diagnostics
  • colorimetric sensors
  • electronic nose
  • healthcare
  • environmental monitoring

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 848 KB  
Article
Environmental Monitoring of Celecoxib, Ketoprofen, and Meloxicam in Pharmaceutical Wastewater by SPE-Assisted Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography
by Alhumaidi B. Alabbas and Sherif A. Abdel-Gawad
Chemosensors 2026, 14(3), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14030069 - 13 Mar 2026
Viewed by 595
Abstract
The continuous discharge of pharmaceutical residues into aquatic environments has raised significant environmental concerns due to their persistence and incomplete removal during wastewater treatment. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently detected pharmaceutical contaminants in industrial effluents. In this study, a [...] Read more.
The continuous discharge of pharmaceutical residues into aquatic environments has raised significant environmental concerns due to their persistence and incomplete removal during wastewater treatment. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently detected pharmaceutical contaminants in industrial effluents. In this study, a sensitive and selective analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of ketoprofen (KTP), meloxicam (MEL), and celecoxib (CEL) in pharmaceutical wastewater using micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) combined with off-line solid-phase extraction (SPE). A high-volume SPE procedure (1000 mL sample) followed by evaporation and reconstitution provided a theoretical enrichment factor of approximately 10,000. Under optimised conditions, complete separation was achieved in less than 10 min. The method exhibited excellent linearity over a range of 0.5–20 µg/mL (r2 > 0.999), with limits of detection in wastewater ranging from 14 to 18 ng/L. Accuracy and precision complied with ICH Q2(B) guidelines, and recoveries from spiked wastewater samples ranged from approximately 99% to 101%, indicating efficient extraction and minimal analyte loss. The validated method was successfully applied to real pharmaceutical wastewater samples, demonstrating its suitability for the routine monitoring of trace-level NSAIDs in complex industrial matrices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 1816 KB  
Article
A Real-Time Automated Training and Sensing for Gas Odor (RATSGO) System for γ-Butyrolactone Detection
by Miha Kim, Yunkwang Oh, Sun-Seek Min, Keekwang Kim and Moonil Kim
Chemosensors 2026, 14(3), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14030061 - 4 Mar 2026
Viewed by 741
Abstract
Herein, RATSGO (Real-time Automated Training and Sensing for Gas Odor), a fully automated live-animal olfactory training platform, for the detection of GBL as a sexual assault-facilitating drug is reported. The system integrates four distinct operant conditioning-based training paradigms, all executed without human intervention, [...] Read more.
Herein, RATSGO (Real-time Automated Training and Sensing for Gas Odor), a fully automated live-animal olfactory training platform, for the detection of GBL as a sexual assault-facilitating drug is reported. The system integrates four distinct operant conditioning-based training paradigms, all executed without human intervention, to enhance learning speed, consistency, and scalability. Using this fully automated framework, four rats were trained to identify γ-butyrolactone (GBL). Three of the four animals successfully reached the predefined learning completion criterion, whereas one failed to meet the criterion. Across 320 automated trials, the GBL rats achieved a mean detection accuracy of 90%, with sensitivity and specificity values of 97% and 82%, respectively. The corresponding positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) were 85% and 96%. When challenged with GBL diluted in drinking water (180 trials), performance remained high, yielding 88% accuracy, 89% sensitivity, 87% specificity, 85% PPV, and 90% NPV. Similarly, in experiments involving GBL mixed with whisky (200 trials), the rats demonstrated robust recognition capability, achieving 90% overall accuracy, perfect sensitivity (100%), 84% specificity, 79% PPV, and 100% NPV. Importantly, odor discrimination performance was preserved when reassessed four months after the completion of training, indicating strong long-term retention of the learned odor representations. Collectively, these findings confirm that the RATSGO system supports rapid, stable, and precise odor learning, underscoring its promise as a practical and extensible biological sensing platform for chemical detection applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 1386 KB  
Article
Potentiometric Determination of Biogenic Amines Using a Cucurbit[6]uril-PVC Sensing Membrane
by Cláudio M. R. Almeida, Joana L. A. Miranda, Manuela M. Moreira, Júlia M. C. S. Magalhães, Maria F. Barroso and Luisa Durães
Chemosensors 2026, 14(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14010004 - 22 Dec 2025
Viewed by 816
Abstract
In this work, a potentiometric sensor for the detection of biogenic amines (BAs) in food samples was developed and characterised. The sensor employs a home-fabricated electrode incorporating a cucurbit[6]uril-modified polyvinyl chloride membrane as the sensing element. The working principle, system behaviour, and optimal [...] Read more.
In this work, a potentiometric sensor for the detection of biogenic amines (BAs) in food samples was developed and characterised. The sensor employs a home-fabricated electrode incorporating a cucurbit[6]uril-modified polyvinyl chloride membrane as the sensing element. The working principle, system behaviour, and optimal operational conditions for BA monitoring were systematically investigated. The developed sensor demonstrated excellent analytical performance, showing a linear response in the concentration range of 3.0 × 10−5 to 1.0 × 10−2 mol L−1, with a low limit of detection of 2.4 × 10−5 mol L−1. Among the tested analytes, the sensor exhibited the highest sensitivity toward tyramine. These results highlight the potential of the proposed cucurbit[6]uril-based potentiometric sensor as an effective and reliable tool for monitoring BAs in complex food matrices, contributing to improved food safety, quality control, and spoilage prevention in the food industry, while also demonstrating its new application as a low-cost, easily constructed platform for rapid tyramine screening in food products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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16 pages, 1856 KB  
Article
Rapid Smartphone Colorimetric Determination of Starch and Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry Quantification of Lignin in Chinese Chrysanthemum Teas
by Wenchen Li and Weiying Lu
Chemosensors 2025, 13(12), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13120434 - 16 Dec 2025
Viewed by 795
Abstract
Chrysanthemum, a traditional medicinal and edible plant, possesses diverse health-promoting properties attributed to its rich profile of bioactive compounds. However, the intrinsic quality, influenced by the composition of fundamental components like starch and lignin, varies significantly across different cultivars and origins. This study [...] Read more.
Chrysanthemum, a traditional medicinal and edible plant, possesses diverse health-promoting properties attributed to its rich profile of bioactive compounds. However, the intrinsic quality, influenced by the composition of fundamental components like starch and lignin, varies significantly across different cultivars and origins. This study establishes a comprehensive phytochemical profile of 12 representative Chinese chrysanthemum cultivars by systematically quantifying their starch and lignin contents. Furthermore, it develops and validates a novel, low-cost rapid detection method for starch utilizing smartphone-based colorimetry. The starch content, determined by a colorimetric anthrone-sulfuric acid assay, ranged from 2.68 to 18.69 g/100 g, while the lignin content, measured via the acetyl bromide digestion followed by UV spectrophotometry at 280 nm, varied from 4.21 to 13.63 g/100 g, revealing substantial inter-cultivar differences. For starch analysis, a low-cost, immediate, general-purpose, and high-throughput (LIGHt) smartphone-based colorimetry was implemented. Standard curves constructed from both absorbance and the LIGHt assay demonstrated excellent linearity (R2 > 0.99). The method’s performance was evaluated under different lighting conditions and across various smartphone models. The UV spectrophotometry condenses lignin quantification to a single 30-min digestion–reading cycle, bypassing the two-day Klason protocol and increases efficiency greatly. The work successfully provides a foundational component analysis and validates a portable, high-throughput framework for on-site quality control of plant-based products, demonstrating the strong potential of smartphone-based colorimetry for rapid starch detection and a complementary laboratory-scale lignin assay. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 648 KB  
Article
Environmental Sustainability Study for the Determination of Ketoprofen in the Presence of Its Main Photo-Degradation Products in River Water Using Solid-Contact Electrodes
by Ali Altharawi and Sherif A. Abdel-Gawad
Chemosensors 2025, 13(11), 375; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13110375 - 24 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 938
Abstract
A major objective in recent years has been the use of membrane sensors for the purpose of monitoring and recognizing environmental pollutants in pharmaceuticals. Ketoprofen (KTP) is likely to be found in the environment, particularly in surface water bodies like rivers, because of [...] Read more.
A major objective in recent years has been the use of membrane sensors for the purpose of monitoring and recognizing environmental pollutants in pharmaceuticals. Ketoprofen (KTP) is likely to be found in the environment, particularly in surface water bodies like rivers, because of its extensive use in medicine. The photodegradability of KTP and the prolonged exposure of river water to sunlight may facilitate its photodegradation. To measure KTP along with its main photo-degradation products, three membrane electrodes were fabricated using different plasticizers. Dioctyl phthalate (DOP), dibutyl sebacate (DBS), and o-nitrophenyloctyl ether (o-NPOE) membrane electrodes were constructed for the selective analysis of the investigated medication. The fabricated sensors were prepared using tetraoctyl ammonium chloride as an ion-pairing agent. A linear range of 1 × 10−5 M to 1 × 10−1 M was shown by the electrodes. The slopes (in mV/decade) for the DOP, DBS, and o-NPOE membranes were −58.80 ± 0.90, −57.90 ± 0.80, and −56.80 ± 1.10, respectively. All test parameters were refined to enhance electrochemical performance. The synthesized membranes were successfully utilized to accurately measure KTP amidst its primary photodegradants. The fabricated sensors were effectively utilized to measure KTP in river water samples without requiring pre-treatment processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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18 pages, 5524 KB  
Article
A Low-Power Portable Gas Sensor System with Adaptive ROIC and Wi-Fi Communication for Biomedical Applications
by Jun-Nyeong Kim, Soon-Kyu Kwon, Byung-Choul Park and Hyeon-June Kim
Chemosensors 2025, 13(8), 303; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13080303 - 12 Aug 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1745
Abstract
This study presents a portable gas sensor system that achieves high performance while minimizing power consumption and production costs for biomedical applications. The proposed system integrates a low-power readout integrated circuit (ROIC) capable of processing large-amplitude sensor signals using a 1.2 V ADC, [...] Read more.
This study presents a portable gas sensor system that achieves high performance while minimizing power consumption and production costs for biomedical applications. The proposed system integrates a low-power readout integrated circuit (ROIC) capable of processing large-amplitude sensor signals using a 1.2 V ADC, significantly reducing the power consumption compared with conventional high-voltage solutions. To address the inherent limitations of single-core/single-thread microcontrollers, an optimized Wi-Fi communication algorithm is implemented, enabling real-time data transmission and accurate signal reconstruction without data loss. Experimental validation using a hydrogen gas detection setup demonstrated that the system achieves less than 0.15% error in reconstructed signals, while substantially reducing overall power consumption and component cost. Comparative analysis confirms that the proposed approach achieves a performance comparable to conventional systems while offering significant reductions in energy usage and hardware expense. These results demonstrate the feasibility of a scalable, low-cost solution for portable gas sensing, particularly in biomedical applications requiring precise and reliable monitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 2518 KB  
Article
Ligand Differentiation Ability of Insect Odorant Receptors in Heterologously Expressed Cells as Potential Biosensor Elements
by Rui Zhou, Yuji Sukekawa, Sawako Niki, Eri Kuroda, Ryohei Kanzaki, Shigehiro Namiki and Hidefumi Mitsuno
Chemosensors 2025, 13(8), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13080273 - 23 Jul 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1315
Abstract
The extensive diversity of volatile organic compounds, along with their minor structural variations, presents significant challenges in the development of chemosensory-based biosensors. Previously, we generated sensor cells expressing insect odorant receptors (ORs) in Sf21 cells, demonstrating their potential as cell-based odorant sensor elements. [...] Read more.
The extensive diversity of volatile organic compounds, along with their minor structural variations, presents significant challenges in the development of chemosensory-based biosensors. Previously, we generated sensor cells expressing insect odorant receptors (ORs) in Sf21 cells, demonstrating their potential as cell-based odorant sensor elements. However, it remains unclear whether the selectivity of cells expressing ORs in vitro for diverse compounds aligns with the receptor’s in vivo performance, aside from the response to target compounds. To address this, we assessed the ligand responses of sensor cells expressing ORs from Drosophila melanogaster using a high-throughput calcium imaging system. Our results demonstrate that in vitro receptor responses exhibit ligand selectivity comparable to in vivo conditions across different chemical categories. Broadly tuned OR-expressing sensor cells (Or13a, Or47a, and Or98a) displayed differential affinities, whereas the narrowly tuned Or56a-expressing sensor cells selectively responded to geosmin. Moreover, cell responses varied with subtle differences in chemical structure, including carbon chain length and functional group positioning. These findings provide valuable insights into insect OR–ligand interactions in vitro, demonstrating that receptor selectivity in sensor cells closely mirrors in vivo conditions. In addition to this consistency, our results highlight the subtle ligand differentiation capabilities of sensor cells enabling fluorescence-based visualization of receptor–ligand interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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11 pages, 2359 KB  
Article
String-Shaped Electrodes for Aβ42 Detection Towards Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
by Bianca Seufert, Sylvia Thomas and Arash Takshi
Chemosensors 2025, 13(6), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13060199 - 1 Jun 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1390
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects a significant portion of humanity’s elderly population across the globe. Recent studies have identified Amyloid-Beta 42 (Aβ42) as a key biomarker for AD. In this research, we examined the feasibility of using string-shaped electrodes to develop a [...] Read more.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects a significant portion of humanity’s elderly population across the globe. Recent studies have identified Amyloid-Beta 42 (Aβ42) as a key biomarker for AD. In this research, we examined the feasibility of using string-shaped electrodes to develop a potentially wearable biosensor for the early detection of AD. Two types of flexible electrochemical electrodes were fabricated using a commercial thread (25% cotton-75% polyester) and an electrospun nanofiber-based string. Decorating the strings with either gold or SiC nanoparticles, several different electrodes were tested to explore their responses to Aβ42. Our results show that the nanofiber-based electrode decorated with gold nanoparticles had the highest sensitivity of 1.71 µA/pg.cm and the best limit of detection (LoD) of 8.36 pg/mL. These findings highlight the importance of the string structure in designing highly sensitive sensors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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Review

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47 pages, 2326 KB  
Review
Carbon Paste Electrodes for Antibiotic Electrochemical Quantification: State of the Art
by Daniela Partene, Iulia Gabriela David, Mihaela-Carmen Cheregi, Emilia-Elena Iorgulescu and Hassan Noor
Chemosensors 2026, 14(3), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14030075 - 20 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1125
Abstract
Antibiotics are used primarily in human and veterinary medicine to treat various infections. They have also found applications in animal farms and aquaculture as growth promotors, with the aim of increasing food production. Their uncontrolled use can lead to increased bacterial resistance to [...] Read more.
Antibiotics are used primarily in human and veterinary medicine to treat various infections. They have also found applications in animal farms and aquaculture as growth promotors, with the aim of increasing food production. Their uncontrolled use can lead to increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics as well as other adverse effects. Unfortunately, these can reach and accumulate in the environment. Thus, their sensitive and selective detection from various matrices, using inexpensive and portable instruments, is becoming an increasing necessity. Electrochemical techniques are a viable alternative in this regard, and carbon paste electrodes (CPEs) present electrochemical and economic characteristics that recommend them as versatile devices for this purpose. Therefore, this paper is a comprehensive synthesis of the information presented in the last 10 years in the literature regarding CPEs developed for the analysis of antibiotics in different samples. Methods for obtaining different modified CPEs and their performances in detecting compounds belonging to different classes of antibiotics were discussed and priorities for future development were suggested. Through this review, researchers interested in the (electro)analysis of antibiotics will gain information about the advantages and limitations of using CPEs and the efforts made in the last decade to improve their performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Cost Chemosensors for Applications in Environment, Health, Food, and Industry Process Control, 2nd Edition)
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