Graphene field-effect transistor biosensors for detection of heavy metal ions

The issue of food safety has received significant attention in recent years. Heavy metal ions in food can accumulate in living organisms and significantly threaten human health. Therefore, it is crucial to detect heavy metal ions. Conventional instrumental analysis methods have high accuracy, but the disadvantage is the high cost and the complexity of the operation process, so it is very urgent to establish a low-cost, rapid, and continuous detection method for heavy metal ions. Field effect transistor (FET) biosensors are one of the most promising detection tools for heavy metal ion detection due to demonstrated advantages of rapidity, accuracy, and continuity in hazard detection. This review first introduces the structure and principle of graphene FETs in detail, then lists some examples of graphene FETs for detecting common heavy metal ions, and analyzes their advantages and disadvantages in depth. Finally, the development direction of graphene FET biosensors in heavy metal ion detection highlighted in this paper.