Advances in immunochemical technologies for analysis of organic pollutants in the environment

Due to the increasing number of organic pollutants, implementation of European Union Directives calls for rapid, reliable, cost-effective, and smart technologies for water analysis. Immunoaffinity of an antibody to an antigen has been used for the development of a wide variety of analytical techniques applicable in environmental monitoring. This article reflects recent advances in development and application of immunochemical techniques for environmental analysis and monitoring of organic pollutants. We briefly summarize several examples. We especially emphasize current trends and future perspectives in immunosensor configurations, including nanotechnology, miniaturization, and multi-sensor array development, and we discuss the advantages and the limitations of these. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.