Great opportunities exist for ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) in the fields of environmental monitoring and of wearable applications for example as the sensing part in wireless networks. In this review special attention is given to the recent results obtained with solid contact ion-selective electrodes and solid contact reference electrodes. Their combination as disposable sensing platform may offer the best solution to eliminate issues commonly experienced with ISEs and lead in a short term to their commercialization. Future research will likely focus on the miniaturization of the current devices and on the further development of non conventional potentiometric methods, e.g., controlled potential thin-layer coulometry. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.