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Electromagnetic Biosensing: A Comprehensive Review on Microwave and Terahertz Antennas for Bacterial and Microbial Detection

Authors:

Shahad Khalid Khaleel, Baraa F. Al-Azzawi

DOI:

  • https://doi.org/10.65983/ijhec.2026.01.0002

Abstract:

Clinically, highly sensitive and specific detection of bacterial and other microbial contamination is necessary for diagnostic purposes, as well as for safety control in food processing, water quality monitoring and environmental monitoring and research. Conventional culture and nucleic-acid methods are still required reference techniques, but can be labor intensive including enrichment, sample preparation, use of laboratory equipment, and trained personnel. A complementary approach is represented by microwave and terahertz (THz) electromagnetic biosensors, where the loading, binding and/or biochemical composition of the microbe affects the complex electromagnetic response of a resonant structure. The physical sensing mechanism, resonator architectures, surface-recognition strategies, microfluidic integration, and engineering limitations of microbial detection are reviewed. Special attention is given to experimentally proven microwave resonator platforms for Escherichia coli and to novel THz metasensors, and to the different types of analytical selectivity and intrinsic electromagnetic sensitivity. Other significant translation obstacles (aqueous dielectric loss, non-specific adsorption, matrix effects, temperature drift, calibration transfer, and the necessity for real sample validation) are also highlighted, along with potential differential measurement, phase-based sensing, microfluidic pre-concentration, and data-driven spectral analysis

Keywords:

Electromagnetic biosensors, bacterial detection, microwave resonators, terahertz metasurfaces, split-ring resonators, microfluidics, biofunctionalization, biofunctionalization; label-free sensing, Escherichia coli

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