Electrochemical Biosensing of Bacteria and Biofilms

Biofilms are organized collections of microorganisms that enable or extend survival under challenging conditions. They cause issues in healthcare, food production, and the environment and can represent important reservoirs of infection. Inside a patient, biofilms allow pathogens to avoid immune responses leading to long-term issues. Their structure can make them extremely challenging to remove since biocides and antimicrobials are effectively excluded. Given these challenges in tacking established biofilms, an important strategy is to use portable sensors that detect the presence of small numbers of bacteria quickly, selectively and with high sensitivity. In this contribution, we discuss recent advances and novel strategies aimed at detecting bacteria and biofilms using electrochemical (bio)sensors.