Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected Strawberries

Rapid detection of plant infections is crucial for minimising crop loss and optimising management strategies, particularly in the context of climate change. While traditional diagnostic methods provide precise measurements of phytohormones such as salicylic acid (SA), a key regulator of plant defenc...

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Main Authors: Cristiana Domingues, Rafaela R. Rosa, Rodolfo G. Rodrigues, Ana Margarida Fortes, Virginia Chu, João Pedro Conde
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Biosensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/15/5/266
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author Cristiana Domingues
Rafaela R. Rosa
Rodolfo G. Rodrigues
Ana Margarida Fortes
Virginia Chu
João Pedro Conde
author_facet Cristiana Domingues
Rafaela R. Rosa
Rodolfo G. Rodrigues
Ana Margarida Fortes
Virginia Chu
João Pedro Conde
author_sort Cristiana Domingues
collection DOAJ
description Rapid detection of plant infections is crucial for minimising crop loss and optimising management strategies, particularly in the context of climate change. While traditional diagnostic methods provide precise measurements of phytohormones such as salicylic acid (SA), a key regulator of plant defence responses, their reliance on bulky equipment and lengthy analysis times limits field applicability. This study presents a microfluidic-based aptamer assay for SA detection, enabling rapid and sensitive fluorescence-based readout from plant samples. A tailored sample pre-treatment protocol was developed and validated with real strawberry samples using HPLC measurements. The assay demonstrated a detection limit ranging from 10<sup>−9</sup> to 10<sup>−6</sup> mg/mL, within the relevant range for early infection diagnosis. The integration of the microfluidic platform with the optimised pre-treatment protocol offers a portable, cost-effective solution for on-site phytohormone analysis, providing a valuable tool for early infection detection and improved crop management.
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institution DOAJ
issn 2079-6374
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publisher MDPI AG
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series Biosensors
spelling doaj-art-7cdd8afd9e4642c89a39b42582999b862025-08-20T03:14:32ZengMDPI AGBiosensors2079-63742025-04-0115526610.3390/bios15050266Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected StrawberriesCristiana Domingues0Rafaela R. Rosa1Rodolfo G. Rodrigues2Ana Margarida Fortes3Virginia Chu4João Pedro Conde5Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores–Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN), Rua Alves Redol, 1000-029 Lisbon, PortugalInstituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores–Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN), Rua Alves Redol, 1000-029 Lisbon, PortugalInstituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores–Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN), Rua Alves Redol, 1000-029 Lisbon, PortugalInstituto de Biossistemas e Ciências Integrativas (BioISI), Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, PortugalInstituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores–Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN), Rua Alves Redol, 1000-029 Lisbon, PortugalInstituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores–Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN), Rua Alves Redol, 1000-029 Lisbon, PortugalRapid detection of plant infections is crucial for minimising crop loss and optimising management strategies, particularly in the context of climate change. While traditional diagnostic methods provide precise measurements of phytohormones such as salicylic acid (SA), a key regulator of plant defence responses, their reliance on bulky equipment and lengthy analysis times limits field applicability. This study presents a microfluidic-based aptamer assay for SA detection, enabling rapid and sensitive fluorescence-based readout from plant samples. A tailored sample pre-treatment protocol was developed and validated with real strawberry samples using HPLC measurements. The assay demonstrated a detection limit ranging from 10<sup>−9</sup> to 10<sup>−6</sup> mg/mL, within the relevant range for early infection diagnosis. The integration of the microfluidic platform with the optimised pre-treatment protocol offers a portable, cost-effective solution for on-site phytohormone analysis, providing a valuable tool for early infection detection and improved crop management.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/15/5/266microfluidicssalicylic acidaptamer-based assayoptical sensoragriculture
spellingShingle Cristiana Domingues
Rafaela R. Rosa
Rodolfo G. Rodrigues
Ana Margarida Fortes
Virginia Chu
João Pedro Conde
Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected Strawberries
Biosensors
microfluidics
salicylic acid
aptamer-based assay
optical sensor
agriculture
title Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected Strawberries
title_full Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected Strawberries
title_fullStr Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected Strawberries
title_full_unstemmed Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected Strawberries
title_short Aptamer-Based Microfluidic Assay for In-Field Detection of Salicylic Acid in <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>-Infected Strawberries
title_sort aptamer based microfluidic assay for in field detection of salicylic acid in i botrytis cinerea i infected strawberries
topic microfluidics
salicylic acid
aptamer-based assay
optical sensor
agriculture
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/15/5/266
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