Gelation-based visual detection of analytes

Molecular gels are one type of soft materials which in recent times have found widespread applications in areas such as drug delivery, biomaterials, tissue engineering, organic electronic devices, visual sensors, and others. Visual sensing of analytes using gels is a fairly new concept which holds a lot of promise. Typically, detection of analytes entails the use of expensive and sophisticated instrumentations which are often complex to perform and need specialized training for their operation. In contrast, gelation-based visual detection techniques are simple, convenient, inexpensive, and doesn’t require any instrument. This emerging research area has not been comprehensively reviewed so far. This review article will provide an in-depth and up-to-date summary of the various reports and highlight the advantages, limitations, challenges, and future prospects of gelation-based visual detection techniques.