Peptides represent a promising class of biorecognition elements that can be coupled to electrochemical transducers. The benefits lie mainly in their stability and selectivity toward a target analyte. Furthermore, they can be synthesized rather easily and modified with specific functional groups, thus making them suitable for the development of novel architectures for biosensing platforms, as well as alternative labelling tools. Peptides have also been proposed as antibiofouling agents. Indeed, biofouling caused by the accumulation of biomolecules on electrode surfaces is one of the major issues and challenges to be addressed in the practical application of electrochemical biosensors. In this review, we summarise trends from the last three years in the design and development of electrochemical biosensors using synthetic peptides. The different roles of peptides in the design of electrochemical biosensors are described. The main procedures of selection and synthesis are discussed. Selected applications in clinical diagnostics are also described.

The development of miniaturized electrochemical platforms holds considerable importance for the in situ analytical monitoring of clinical, environmental, food, and forensic samples. However, it is crucial to pay attention to the sustainability of materials chosen to fabricate these devices, in order to decrease the amount and the impact of waste coming from their production and use. In the framework of a circular economy and an environmental footprint reduction, the electrochemical sensor production technology must discover the potentiality of innovative approaches based on techniques and materials that can satisfy the needs of environmental-friendly and greener analytics. The aim of this review is to describe some of the printing technologies most used for sensor production, including screen-printing, inkjet-printing, and 3D-printing, and the low-impact materials that are recently proposed for these techniques, such as polylactic acid, cellulose, silk proteins, biochar.

With the advancement of technology and increasing industrial activity, anthropogenic contaminants are currently detected where there is no record of their presence or insufficient information about their toxicological impact. Consequently, there are not sufficiently robust local or global regulations, the ecotoxicological and human health risks are critical, and they may not be routinely monitored despite being ubiquitous. The interest in studying environmental contaminants, including micropollutants and emerging contaminants, in complex environmental water samples has grown in the last decade. Due to the concentrations in which they are typically found in the environment and the rapid global dispersion, the detection procedures for these substances must be capable of measuring very low concentrations. Many efforts have been made to improve remediation procedures or develop novel analytical methods for their determination. Although there are several robust and reliable standard analytical techniques for their monitoring, pollutant contamination requires simple and inexpensive methods for massive, in situ monitoring campaigns. In this regard, biosensors have emerged as devices with high selectivity, sensitivity, easy operation, and short analysis times. Aptasensors are biosensors based on a nucleic acid recognition element (aptamer). Due to their synthetic nature, stability, and easy production, aptamers are frequently employed to develop bioassays. This work presents a systematic review of the trends in using aptasensors for detecting environmental contaminants present in environmental water samples, as well as the estimation of the potential technological contribution these devices might give to environmental monitoring.