Nanomaterials as Inks for Electrochemical Paper-Based Analytical Devices for Biosensing, Pharmaceutical Analysis and Environmental Monitoring

The never-ending discovery of novel nanomaterialsNanomaterials has been pivotal in improving the analytical performances of electrochemical sensors. Due to their nanometric dimensions, these materials can be exploited to increase the electrodeElectrodes area, provide high electrocatalytic activity, and improve electrical conductivity, enhancing the overall analytical performances of the sensors. Thanks to their solution processability, nanomaterialsNanomaterials can be used as the functional components of inks, facilitating the production and modification of electrochemical analytical platforms. In recent years, many nanomaterialNanomaterials-based ink formulations have been proposed in the literature. The flourishing of this technology allowed the exploitation of the astonishing properties of nanomaterialsNanomaterials in the production of low-cost and environmentally sustainable electrochemical paper-based analytical sensorsElectrochemical paper-based analytical devices (e-PADs). Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the art of nanomaterialNanomaterials-based inks for the manufacture of printed e-PADs. In the first instance, resume the crucial aspects behind e-PAD manufacturing processes, such as the choice of paper, the different printing techniques, the post-printing processes, and the implementation of microfluidics. In the second section, we will review the applications of nanomaterialNanomaterials-based inks, categorizing them on the base of the chemical composition of the nanomaterialNanomaterials. Finally, we will focus on the application of printed e-PADsElectrochemical paper-based analytical devices in real matrixes. With this chapter, we want to demonstrate the potentiality of nanomaterialNanomaterials-based functional inksFunctional inks and e-PADs, as well as the challenges that must be overcome to achieve high-performance and robust platforms.