Biodetection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: nano-biosensors in detection; from principles to recent progresses

Tuberculosis (TB) exerts profound detrimental impacts on global human populations. This infectious disease is primarily caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), a highly adapted pathogen that undergoes rapid genomic evolution, enabling it to acquire resistance to targeted antimicrobial agents. The emergence of chemotherapeutic resistance was first documented in the 1990s, with epidemiological data indicating that approximately 150,000 individuals succumb annually to multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. For the detection of MTB, a variety of diagnostic approaches have been established. While culture-based methods remain the gold standard, molecular techniques offer superior reliability; however, they are costly and require specialized expertise. In the contemporary landscape of medical science, advancements in fundamental disciplines have facilitated the integration of nanotechnology into diagnostic applications, providing innovative materials for bacterial identification and infection diagnosis. Among these, nanoscale materials have been proposed as efficacious tools for MTB detection. Various nanoparticles, such as gold nanoparticles and graphene quantum dots, can be synthesized using different methodologies to enable precise identification of MTB in clinical specimens. On average, nanobiosensors achieve a limit of detection (LOD) of approximately 10³ colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL), whereas magnetoelastic sensors exhibit LOD ranges from 10⁴ to 10⁹ CFU/mL. This review elucidates recent progress in nanobiosensor technologies for MTB detection, addresses associated challenges, reviews the current state of the field, and outlines prospective avenues for development.