Flexible SERS Substrates for On-Site Food Safety Monitoring: A Five-Year Progress Review.

Wenzheng Ye, Zhihua Zhu, Xinran Lv, Zhizhong Sun, Zhiyu Yang, Ruiyun Zhou

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Wenzheng YeSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.

Zhihua ZhuSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.

Xinran LvSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.

Zhizhong SunCollege of Biological Systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.

Zhiyu YangSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.

Ruiyun ZhouSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.ORCID 0000-0001-7497-0577

Funding

China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2023M733195China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2025T180824

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology has attracted growing interest for on-site food safety monitoring, with flexible substrates offering distinct advantages in conformal sampling, portability, and non-destructive analysis. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in flexible SERS substrates for practical food safety applications, covering design strategies including material selection, structural engineering, and performance enhancement, as well as diverse applications such as swabbing-based detection, in situ analysis, enrichment-assisted trace detection, and multiplexed contaminant identification. Challenges and future perspectives are also discussed, focusing on portable instrument adaptation, simplified sample pretreatment, intelligent data analysis, and scalable manufacturing. This review aims to bridge the gap between laboratory research and field deployment, providing valuable insights for the commercialization of flexible SERS technology in real-world food safety monitoring.

Indexed as

flexible substratesfood safetyon-site detectionportable spectrometersurface-enhanced Raman scattering

Identifiers

PMID42737314

DOI10.3390/foods15173070

PMCPMC13564983

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.