Nanozyme-assisted CRISPR/Cas systems as an emerging platform for food safety applications: Recent advances

Abstract

It is of paramount importance to establish user-friendly, consensus-driven, and conceptually novel techniques for ensuring food safety. The CRISPR/Cas system represents an emerging technology with exceptional capabilities for targeting RNA and DNA. It has been repurposed as a robust tool for the diagnosis of nucleic acids. Nevertheless, most CRISPR-based techniques rely on specialized detection equipment and expensive reporters, despite their exceptional accuracy and rapid analysis capabilities. Recently, nanozymes have been integrated into CRISPR/Cas-based biosensors due to their low cost, good stability, higher recycling efficiency, simpler preparation processes, and more robust catalytic functions. Therefore, significant efforts have been devoted to the advancement of nanozyme-integrated CRISPR/Cas-derived biosensors for the analysis of various targets. This review focuses on the recent developments in nanozyme-assisted CRISPR/Cas systems-based biosensors, with particular emphasis on the detection principles and performance of these platforms. The principles and properties of commonly employed CRISPR/Cas systems are outlined. Additionally, the application of nanozyme-assisted CRISPR/Cas systems in food safety analysis, which includes pathogenic bacteria, viruses, toxins, and heavy metal ions, is thoroughly described. Ultimately, the main challenges and future trends in this field are discussed in detail.