The increasing use of antibiotics around the globe has contributed to an increase in antimicrobial resistance and become a major risk to both public health and sustainable development. Reliable and fast detection of antibiotic residues in clinical, agricultural, and environmental matrices is required to monitor antimicrobial resistance effectively. The conventional analytical techniques are sensitive, but they are also expensive, complex and lacking in portability. Voltammetry is a recently emerging electrochemical detection technique that is low-cost and rapid. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time, a meta-analysis was conducted on graphene-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors for antibiotic detection over the last decade. This systematic review critically examines the analytical properties of sensors and biosensors, the physicochemical properties of antibiotics, adsorption characteristics, and the use of nanoparticles to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of devices. This review critically examines the cost-effectiveness, scalability, and practicality of point-of-use devices using graphene-based sensors and biosensors. This systematic review also discusses the potential risks to human health from antibiotic contamination and the role of monitoring in contributing to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This systematic review identifies a gap between developing sensors in laboratories versus their deployment as field-deployable devices; it highlights challenges associated with stability, matrix effects and the complexity of manufacturing devices. Finally, it provides recommendations for future research that may help to address this gap to promote the transition of innovative devices from academic to practical applications.
Saqib et al. (2026) studied this question.