Design and development of advanced glucose biosensors via tuned interactions between marine polysaccharides and diagnostic elements – A survey

Extensive scientific analysis on the susceptibility of different populations to COVID-19 highlights that compared to populations with no co-morbidities, people with co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus (DM) are at a significantly higher risk of serious infection, hospitalization, or even death. This underscores the importance of controlling DM through self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) or continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) using biosensors. These biosensors, which can be either enzymatic or non-enzymatic, have undergone several rounds of development in terms of the materials used for device construction. In terms of the immobilization agent needed to anchor enzymatic or non-enzymatic detection elements to the electrode surface, marine polysaccharides, such as chitosan and alginate, hold a distinct advantage. This, in turn, can be ascribed to their biocompatibility, chemical stability, film-forming ability, functionality bind with enzymes/diagnostic elements, and easy availability. In this review, we focus extensively on the use of cationic chitosan and anionic alginate in the past decade for designing advanced glucose biosensors. Their role in enhancing sensor response via physical/chemical interactions with the conducting and diagnostic elements is analyzed in detail from a structural point of view. In addition, the possibility of using these polysaccharides in non-invasive CGM sensors is discussed and several potential future research avenues are presented. •Marine polysaccharide-based sensors for glucose monitoring are discussed.•Polysaccharide-diagnostic element conjugation implies good selectivity.•Polysaccharide biocompatibility and functionality enhance biosensing ability.•Surface-charge features of chitosan/alginate amplify biosensor performance.