Thiol sensing: From current methods to nanoscale contribution
Résumé
Thiols play critical roles in many biologicals processes: they are involved in combating oxidative stress and maintaining redox homeostasis. In agri-food, they are responsible for organoleptic aspect of many foodstuffs. Thus, thiol identification and quantification are challenging due to their similar chemical structures (especially for small/volatile thiols), reactivity and matrices of these compounds. To overcome the analytical issues, many methods and technics were developed each with their own advantages and drawbacks. Lately, one emerging field in analytical development goes through the contribution of nanoparticles. Scientific teams rely on their unique properties to improve sensitivity, selectivity and decrease matrices effects. This review is an overview of current methods for thiol detection followed by the report of nanomaterial contribution to the field. Finally, a critical point of view will be given to these new sensing methods, from their potential to their limits.