Next-Generation Biosensors for Pharmaceutical Analysis: Advances in Point-Of-Care Drug Detection and Monitoring

Abstract

The rapid evolution of biosensor technologies has transformed pharmaceutical analysis by enabling highly sensitive, selective, and rapid drug detection platforms suitable for point-of-care and real-time therapeutic monitoring. Conventional analytical approaches such as high-performance liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, and immunoassays remain gold standards for pharmaceutical quantification; however, their dependency on centralized laboratories, expensive instrumentation, skilled personnel, and time-intensive workflows has accelerated the demand for portable biosensing alternatives. Recent advances in nanotechnology, microfluidics, artificial intelligence, wearable electronics, and molecular biorecognition systems have significantly expanded the capabilities of next-generation biosensors in pharmaceutical applications. Electrochemical, optical, piezoelectric, fluorescence-based, and field-effect transistor biosensors are increasingly being integrated with aptamers, antibodies, enzymes, molecularly imprinted polymers, and CRISPR systems for highly accurate therapeutic drug monitoring and decentralized healthcare delivery. Point-of-care biosensors have demonstrated substantial utility in antibiotic monitoring, anticancer drug analysis, immunosuppressant quantification, overdose detection, and personalized pharmacotherapy. Simultaneously, wearable and implantable biosensors are facilitating continuous monitoring using sweat, saliva, tears, and interstitial fluid. Despite remarkable progress, challenges associated with biofouling, calibration drift, reproducibility, regulatory approval, and large-scale commercialization continue to limit widespread clinical implementation. Artificial intelligence-assisted biosensor analytics, smartphone integration, and cloud-based therapeutic management systems are expected to accelerate the transition toward intelligent decentralized pharmaceutical care. This review comprehensively discusses recent developments in biosensor technologies for pharmaceutical analysis, emphasizing point-of-care drug detection, therapeutic monitoring, wearable systems, analytical validation, clinical applications, translational challenges, and future prospects.