Multimodal biosensors: a review of signal synergy mechanisms, construction strategies, and application prospects.

The growing demand for accurate detection in complex matrices is promoting the transformation of multimodal biosensors from simple signal superposition to synergistic enhancement. This review systematically explains the mechanism underlying synergistic effects and identifies signal complementarity and anti-interference enhancement as the core features. The essence lies in the orthogonality and signal-linkage design of the detection principle. On this basis, the collaborative construction strategy of the trinity of "signal combination-nanomaterial-identification element" is proposed, and its differentiated adaptation patterns in biomedicine, food safety, and environmental monitoring are clarified. This review provides a theoretical framework and quantifiable evaluation basis for the rational design of high-performance multimodal biosensors.