Revolutionizing melamine detection: Cutting-edge advances from traditional analyses to state-of-the-art electrochemical sensors

Abstract

The scientific community has struggled to monitor harmful and toxic chemicals with the goal of improving both human health and the environment. Melamine (1, 3, 5-triazine-2, 4, 6-triamine, C3H6N6) is a cyanamide trimer used primarily to produce plastics, melamine formaldehyde, flame retardants, coatings, adhesives, insecticides, fertilizer, and kitchenware. Melamine is usually added illegally to dairy products, food and pet food to boost its protein content due to its high nitrogen content (66 %), which poses severe health risks. Therefore, it is vital to create efficient, reliable, and robust analytical methods for the detection of melamine. This review begins with a brief discussion of conventional melamine detection methods, such as chromatography, electrophoresis, capillary electrophoresis, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among many detection methods, electrochemical sensors have garnered considerable interest in detection due to their high sensitivity, selectivity, short analysis time, and simplicity of use. The review ends with a conclusive note focusing on the current challenges and future perspectives of the development of advanced electrochemical sensors. This review will inspire future research on nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensing for the determination of melamine with novel ideas.

Keywords

• Melamine determination
• Electrochemical sensors
• Biosensors
• Nanomaterials
• Food safety
• Milk samples